


Would that make you happy?

by Justoneshadow



Category: markiplier - Fandom, youtube - Fandom
Genre: Bad Smut, Domestic Violence, Drunken Kissing, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fluff, Love, Moving In Together, Pyramids, Romance, Slow Burn, cute shit, vacationing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-07
Updated: 2017-02-28
Packaged: 2018-05-18 17:27:09
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 32
Words: 52,381
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5936785
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Justoneshadow/pseuds/Justoneshadow
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Reader finds her at the time fiance cheating on her with her intern. Mark saves the day by letting her move in with him while she gets back onto her feet. Will she end up falling in love with him?</p><p>A.N:  Since the plots are different for each guy, you can choose which chapters you want to read. They are labeled. And those that aren't, are chapters that include both guys.<br/>A.N: It's mostly just Mark/Reader now, so enjoy the cute shit</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Leaving

Cursing, you pull your keys out of your bag and attempting to open the door. You’re an hour later to work at the office and the Los Angeles traffic is only going to make it worse.  
“I’m sorry, Jacob. I can’t stay and chat. I’m really late.” You say when you finally open the door. Jacob is nowhere in sight, probably in the backyard with the dogs. “I just need to get a few things.” You stop at the dinning room entrance. A strange sound catches you off guard. No one but Jacob should be home, yet you hear two voices.

“Jacob, is there someone in there with you?” You ask, putting your bag down on the couch. You and Jacob have been together since high school and you loved him to death. “Jay, I swear to god, if you don’t answer me, I’ll call the cops.” You say, heading towards the bedroom.

The door is cracked open, allowing you to look in. Jacob is with another woman, probably younger than you. Rage floods your body as you slam the door open. “You digesting bitch!” You shout, glaring at the tangled mess of bodies. Jacob and the girl sit up, covering themselves with the covers. You take one good look at the girl then you realize who it is. Your intern from the office. “I can’t believe you two!”

“Honey, please. It’s not what it looks like.” Jacob says, reaching out for you. You roll your eyes. “I was just-“

“Save your excuses you pig.” You slip off the engagement ring he had given you and throw it at him. “You two deserve each other. Oh, and Sarah? You’re fucking fired.” You turn around and exit the room in a hurry, ready to leave. 

“Honey, please.” Jacob scales to his feet as he hurries after you. “I was only…” You stop, your shoulders shaking with anger.

“Ten years of a relationship thrown down the drain. I can believe you of all people would do this. I don’t want to see your face ever again. I’ll be back for my stuff after work.”  
“Can’t we talk through this? It’ll never happen again.” He pleaded. “I just, I had a moment of weakness.” 

You turn on your heel and glare at him. “Jacob, you did this for a reason. Maybe I wasn’t goo enough for you to remember that we had been together for ten years. Ten. Mother. Fucking. Years. Clearly that didn’t matter to you. Especially since you went and decided to fuck my intern who is barely eighteen.”

Jacob stays silent, his shaggy hair covering his eyes. He’s probably mulling over his options of either kicking Sarah out or losing you. It’s one or the other. 

“Forget it. I doubt any of this matters. The wedding is off and I’m moving out once I’m out of the office today. So you can keep the intern. That’s clearly what you want.” You say, moving past him to grab your bag. 

He suddenly grabs your wrist. “You’re not going anywhere.” He says, his voice low and filled with malice. “I’m not letting you leave me.”

“Jacob, please. I’m already late. I have to go.” You say, tugging, trying to take your arm back. “Please let go of me.”

He pushed you against the couch, straddling you. His entire weight pins you down. “You are not going to leave!” His right hand is clutching at your hair, forcing you to look at him. You can see the anger in his eyes. “Not if I have any fucking say in it!” 

That’s when you feel his fist connect with your jaw. Your side. He’s beating you. That’s the only thing you can process, that and the pain. Pain erupts immediately.

“Fucking bitch!” He shouts, still wailing on you  
.  
“Jacob, stop!” Sarah exclaims, trying to get him off you. You can hear sirens outside. Sarah must’ve gotten scared and called the cops.

The door is kicked open and within seconds, the officers have Jacob off you and against the wall. Another officer hurries to your side and examine you. His eyes flicker to Sarah who is shaking in fear. “Send the paramedics in.” He says into the walkie-talkie strapped to his shoulder. “He’s going to be locked away for a long ass time. He won’t hurt you.” He pushes hair away from your face, afraid you’ll shatter more than you already have.

 

The sun is already setting when the paramedics take you outside. Despite their begging, you say you’re fine. You don’t want to go to the hospital. The summer air feels cold against your skin as one of the EMT’s cleans you up.  
Your lip is swollen and you have a gash above your right eyebrow. Not to mentions bruises everywhere from the force. But luckily, no life-threatening injuries. Sarah stands in the doorway on the phone, probably explaining what happened to your boss. Giving a sigh, you look up at the orange sky.

“You should probably call him.” Sarah says when she hangs up. “You know, your best friend. I’m sure he’ll take you in for the time being. I doubt you want to return to the house.”

She has a point. You were thinking of selling it anyway. “I don’t want to bother him.” You say, looking back down, poking at the dried blood on your white shirt. “And I don’t want to worry him either.”

“He’s your best friend, of course he’s going to worry. He loves you after all.” She says. “And I’m sorry. I was… I don’t even know.”

You force a laugh. “Don’t apologize. He was bound to snap eventually. Good thing he did too, I wouldn’t have noticed what kind of person he was.”

Sarah walks over, barefoot, your phone in her hand. “Call him. Or I’ll have the paramedics call him and that will be worse.”

Sighing, you take your phone and scroll through your contacts before hitting his picture and placing your phone against your ear. Your heart is beating rapidly against your chest as it rings.

“Hello?” He answers. His voice is softly and filled with sleep. You probably woke him up from a much needed nap. “____, is everything okay?” He asks. Just his voice is enough to make your knees weak.

“Hey.” You say softly, looking up at the slowly darkening sky. “Sorry, did I wake you up?” A small chuckle leaves your lips. 

He’s silent for a fee seconds before giving that wonderful laugh of his. “I would lie and say no, but you kinda did.” He admits. “But I can always sleep after this call.”

You give a soft sigh. “Mark, I.. uh, I’m leaving Jacob. For two reasons.” He gives a soft hum, indicating you to continue. “One, the dumbass thought it would be cute to cheat on me with my intern.”

“Is- Isn’t she like seventeen?” He asks, cutting you off quickly. You give a sound of annoyance. “Right. Sorry, continue.”

“Two… he beat me. Now, before you threaten to beat his ass, the paramedics said it wasn’t too bad. Bruising and a swollen lip, but I should be fine.” You admit, looking at the asphalt. 

“Those do seem like good reasons to leave him. I knew he was no good. His intentions finally showed.”

“I’m going to sell the house. And I’ll need a place to stay for a while, at least until I find a new place.”  
“My place” He simply says. 

“What about it?”

“Come live with me. You won’t be a burden, I promise. You’ll be a great addition to the household.”

You laugh. “You’re such an idiot, you know? But I also know you won’t take no as an answer. So why the hell not?”

“Can you drive? Or do you want me to pick you up?” He asks, his bed shifting under his weight as he gets up.

“Well, I have to pack, so you can come pick me up.” You say, standing up yourself. “It’ll be a relief to see someone I don’t hate.”

“I’ll be right over. Give me some time to find some pants.” You chuckle at his comment, hanging up.

 

You hear a car door close in the driveway. You smile, zipping up your luggage. All of your clothes were packed inside along with some other important things. You decide to greet him. 

Opening the door, you’re instantly wrapped in his warm embrace. You rub your face against his chest, taking in the smell of his cologne. A smell that brought you home.

“God, I’m going to kick his ass for doing this.” He whispers, rubbing your back gently. “I’ll make it so he never get you back, no matter what shit he throws at you.” 

He kisses the top of your head. The action causes your heart to beat rapidly, butterflies are tickling your stomach.


	2. Are you hitting on me?

Giving a sigh, you land face first onto the guest bed. It’s so comfortable that you don’t even want to get up to unpack. Hell, you don’t want to get up to even change your clothes. It isn’t until you hear Mark clear his throat that you turn your head to look at him. He chuckles, kneeling down to be on the same level as you.

“I’m sorry, but you look like hell. Why don’t you go take a shower and we can order something for dinner. You must be starving.” He has a point, you are starving. All day you were out and about, meeting with clients and taking pictures that met their requirements, you barely had enough time to eat a proper breakfast.

“Thank you, everyone loves being reminded of how horrible their day went.” You joke, propping yourself on your elbows. “Can we have sushi? I feel like eating sushi.” You say, tucking a strand of hair behind your ear. “Any kind really. Doesn’t matter to me, I am never picky about the sushi.” Mark smiles at the comment.

“Now, that’s the girl I know. Never denying her loved for food, even at her worst. The way to your heart is food.” He says, standing up.

“You better not be hitting on me. I was just placed back on the market, you’re going to have to wait a hell of a lot longer than a few hours to sweep me off my feet, Mister Iplier.” You say, sitting up, wincing at the small ting of pain in your side.

“Make that a bath, I don’t need you hurting yourself more than you already are.” You roll your eyes, rolling off the bed. “I’ll go place the order for the sushi and tell the other guys, hopefully they won’t devour everything before you get a chance to sit down. But no promises.” 

“As long as I can have the crumbs at the most, that is fine with me. Now,” you make a shooing motion with your hands, “let me be. The tub and I have a date today and you are not invited.” You say, heading over to your suit case filled with clothes. Your pajamas should be at the top.  
“I’m not invited? How can that be? I am the host.” You glance at him, giving him a warning. “Right, that counts as flirting and there will be no flirting in this house for months.” He says, holding up a finger. “I don’t want you to hurt me if I happen to slip up.” You glare at him playfully, upset that’s he’s still standing in the doorway of the guestroom you’re occupying. He stops talking, cutting his train of thought off. “Right, I’ll let you be. Sorry.” He backs out of the room, closing the door.

You laugh softly, pulling out something comfortable and decent to wear. A shirt referencing your favorite television show and your favorite sweatpants that represented your college.

 

You make sure the bath is just right. Not too hot or too cold, because honestly, it’s either Hell or Antarctica, and you don’t want either of them. Not today. You mix in a few scents you brought with you, lavender with a hint of mint. Something to relax your aching body. Something to take your mind off today’s events. 

Outside the door, you hear Mark chatting with Matt and Ryan. He’s recalling today’s events, twisting it into his own version. Something about him kicking Jacob’s ass, which would be something you would pay to see. 

Once the bath starts running cold, you climb out and dry yourself, slipping on your clothes. But before you leave the bathroom, you tidy up, making it seem as if no one was around. The only evidence of someone in the bathroom is the lingering smell of lavender.

“That did not happen.” Ryan says, taking apart his chopsticks. “Someone like her can defend herself if needed. It comes with her job.”

“And how would you know that?” Matt asks, plopping himself into a chair. You’re in the hallway, listening to their conversation. 

“Mark and I have been friends with her for a while. How long? I can’t even tell you to be honest. Mark can tell you, he’s known her longer than I have, for sure.”

Mark flexes his arms. “That’s right, kiddies, I’ve known her since she was this little.” He holds down his hand to the height of the armrest on the couch. 

“Actually, that’s an over exaggerating. I was not that small, Mark.” You say, walking into the living room after a while. “In fact, I think I have physical proof that I was taller than you as kids.” You say, tapping your finger against your chin. “Right, my mom should have the photo albums somewhere. Maybe I’ll go pick them up sometime. You know, she’s living is San Francisco now.” He muttered something under his breath. “What was that? I didn’t quite catch that.”

“I said I know she is, she told me herself last time I went to Cincinnati.” He gazes up at you, a little hurt that you brought up the height.

You can’t help but chuckle. “Stop being a child.” You say, sitting down next to Ryan. “It’s time for soosh, unless you don’t want any.” You pick up your pair of chopsticks and tear open the packaging. “I won’t mind eating your share.”  
“Don’t you dare touch my sushi.” He says, pulling his share closer to him. “You can have some of Ryan’s, I don’t think he’ll mind it.” Ryan shrugs.

You chuckle again, opening the plastic container that held the glorious sushi. Your stomach growls in response.  
“Damn, you better feed that monster before it decides to eat you.” Mark says, smiling smugly. You force a smile, sticking your tongue out when he isn’t looking.

 

“No! Ryan! You have to go the other goddamn way. My left!” Mark exclaims, tossing his chopsticks down into the empty container. Ryan is stressing out, following Mark’s directions. You’re leaning against the armrest and watching them. It’s a sight you could get used to.

“Mark, can’t you see you’re stressing him out? Sit your ass down, I can’t see.” You say, pointing to the chair. “Sit.” You give him a serious look for dramatic feel.

He sits down. “Yes, Ma’am.” He folds his hands on his lap, bouncing his leg. 

“But, uh, Ryan, he does have a point, you’re supposed to go left.” You said, giving him a small smile. “Because going right will…” your sentence is cut short when Ryan’s charter dies in a horrific way. “Die.” 

Mark throws his hands up. “Ryan, you had one damn job!”  
You pat Ryan on the shoulder. “Too bad, really. But I don’t know about you Princesses, but I am heading to bed. I do have to work tomorrow.” Then you remember you don’t have a car. “Shit, I forgot the whole car thing.”

“I’ll take you.” Ryan says, turning the console off. “I don’t mind getting up early.”

“I never said anything about getting up early. M earliest session is at noon!” You say, heading to the room you’re borrowing.

“We are not princesses! You are!” Mark exclaims from the living room.

“Mark, stop hitting on her.”


	3. Seriously?!

You wake up with a start. Sweat makes your hair stick to your forehead. At first you’re scared, not recognizing where you are but within seconds you remember. A groan escapes your lips as you roll over to check the time. It’s seven in the morning. Way too early for you to be up. 

You hear Mark’s voice in the kitchen. He probably has a busy day ahead of him. Kicking the covers away, you roll off the bed. First thing first, you have to take a shower. Grabbing a fresh change of clothes, you slip outside the door only to run into Mark’s chest. You winced, rubbing your forehead before looking up at him. 

“Sorry, I was just coming to check on you.” He apologizes, a goofy smile on his face. “But you’re up, so I don’t need to any more.”

He was checking up on you? Why? Did he honestly think you were going to break a window to get out of his house when you called him in the first place. 

“I’m fine. Woke up a little confused, but I’m fine. Now, I should really take a shower so I can function like a normal human being so…” Mark steps out of the way when your voice trails off. You give him a soft smile before heading towards the bathroom.

 

“I thought you didn’t have work until noon.” Ryan asks, setting down his cup. He let Lego and Chica out to do their business. 

“That’s right. I just thought, hey, why not deprive myself of another five hours of sleep by waking up?” You joke, running a hand through your hair. “As much as I wish I could go back to sleep. It’s not going to happen.” You lean against the kitchen counter. “And I thought I would be great to go out for breakfast, you know?” 

“Just the two of us or everyone?” Ryan asks, looking at the back door to see if Lego and Chica were done. 

“Whoever wants to join, but if it’s just the two of us, then that’s fine.” You give a small shrug. “I’ll go ask-“

“Matt is going to be busy the rest of the day. I don’t think he’ll wants to go.”

“I’ll go ask them. And come on, I am going to pay. I know this great little breakfast joint nearby. They have pancakes the size of your head.” You say, emphasizing the size with your hands. “They’re pretty good.” You push yourself off the counter and started heading to each respected area.  
Mark and Matt agreed instantly. You could tell they were starving from the look in their eyes. 

“Let me go get my stuff. It’ll be a few seconds, trust me.” You say. When you said stuff, you meant camera and phone. There was no way in hell you were going to miss the morning sun today. 

 

Mark insisted on driving and within seconds (after telling Chica and Lego to be good and watch the house) you were halfway out the door. “I call shotgun!” You shout, stopping by his car, a smug grin on your lips.

Ryan and Matt groan. “Dude, that’s not fair.” Matt whines. Mark throws him a glare, telling him not to whine.  
“She’s buying us breakfast. Which means she can sit where ever she wants.” He says, unlocking the doors and sliding into the driver’s seat. 

“Plus, the scenery is going to look amazing from the front seat.” You turn on your camera, adjusting the settings. “Something I don’t want to miss out.” You snap a picture of the guys for emphasis.

“Alright, Miss I-Know-How-To-Take-Pictures, are we going to this breakfast joint or not?” Mark asks, letting the window down. “Because with us, it takes hours to eat. I don’t want you to be late.”

“Already sounding like a wife.” You mutter, opening the door and sliding in. You give him a sweet smiling, not wanting him to know that you had sassed him a few seconds ago.

 

You were right. The scenery was amazing. You barely had enough time to take enough pictures (mostly because you wanted to photograph everything). You’re so preoccupied with taking pictures that you fail to notice Ryan and Mark watching your every movement. Every smile that formed on your face. The way your eyes light up whenever a picture turns out amazing. It’s a breathtaking sight to them.

 

“Where did you go to college?” Matt asks, setting his phone down and quickly glancing up at you. “If you don’t mind me asking.” You shake your head, putting your camera back in its bag.

“I don’t. I uh, went to college in Cincinnati. With Mark actually. But I transferred to an art school about my sophomore year.” You say, drumming your fingers against the table.

“Did you sneak out to see Mark when you transferred?”  
Mark scoffs. “Dude, come on.”

“No, it’s fine. Actually, I didn’t. Not in that way. Sure I visited a lot. But not in the way you’re thinking. I was with Jacob for ten years, since high school.”

“And you never once thought about banging him? Really?” Ryan laughs at the question, watching Mark shift uncomfortably.

“Can’t say that I have. Like I said, I was with Jacob the entire time. And my degree was the main issue.” You say, putting the camera bag between you and Ryan. “I’m sure if I would’ve gone to the same high school as Mark, we might not even be having this conversation.” You give a small shrug. 

“And what about you Mark, ever think about banging her?” Matt turns his attention to Mark, who is looking out the window, clearly not wanting to answer the question.

“Guys, maybe we should tone down a little. The people around us are giving us strange looks. I mean, it looks pretty bad already. Mark looks like he could kill someone. Matt is just Matt, and Ryan looks like he’s high and confused. Probably think we’re all banging or some shit.”

“And what about you?”

“Hm? Oh, did I not include myself? I thought I did when I said we’re all banging. Hell, maybe they think you have me against my will.” You joke. “But enough of the nasty talk, let’s order because you don’t want to see me when I’m cranky.”

“You really don’t.” Ryan and Mark say at the same time.

 

The smell of pancakes brings you back to the last time you were here. Shortly after acing your interview, you found yourself in the small diner, enticed by the amazing smells. Today, you went with the blueberry pancakes with a ton of butter. You would’ve enjoyed it to the maximum if the guys stopped picking at your food. 

Giving a soft sigh, you toss down your card and lean back against the seat. You feel ready to burst. But it’s going to keep you energized for the rest f the day. 

“That was amazing.” Ryan mutters into his mug. “I think I’m in love.”

“I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that.” Mark says, stacking unused coffee creamers in a shape of a tower. The engineer side of him showing. 

“I just want to crawl back into bed and reschedule all my shoots.” You mutter, flagging down a server and handing them the receipt and your card. “But I can’t, because that would mean having to reschedule their wedding.” 

“Well let’s get going. You have to get all dolled up.” Ryan says, setting his mug down. 

“No I don’t. And don’t say dolled up again or I’ll have to hit you.” You threaten, taking the card back from the server when he comes back. “I’m just wearing a dress and that’s it. Nothing special. But yes, we should go now if I want to get there on time. Which means, Ryan, you should get yourself fixed up, because you are my plus one.”


	4. Drunken Kiss

Your sunset colored dress hugged your body in all the right places and showed a decent amount of cleavage (not enough to be inappropriate). Your hair is curled and pinned up and diamond studs with matching necklace shimmer against your slightly tanned skin. The perfume you choose is fruity and subtle. 

“Are you ready to go? I don’t want us to get caught in traffic.” Ryan says from outside the bedroom door. 

“Yeah, give me a second.” You say, applying a thin layer of lip gloss. You grabbed your clutch and camera case. After you have all the needed possessions, you open the door to find a well dressed Ryan. Your heart skips a beat.

“Take a picture. It’ll last longer.” He says, the corners of his lips tugging upwards. His eyes give you a once over. “But god, you look amazing. And you’re sure you bought this dress last week?” 

You break out of your small trance before nodding. “Yeah, I saw it and had to buy it. It just screamed buy me when I was at the mall.”

Ryan smiles, offering his hand. “We should really go.”

 

The sun is warm against your skin as you set up your tripod. Guests are still filtering in. Two hours until the wedding starts. And just a few minutes before the first round of pictures start. You’re to photograph as many moments as possible. That’s you’re job after all  
.  
You snap a few practice pictures when you feel something cold against your arm. You glance back to see Ryan offering a bottle of cold water. You give him a small smile, a sign of thanks.

“So, do you like your job?” He asks. You take the bottle and unscrew the cap.

“I prefer to call it a profession. Not a job. But yes, I do enjoy it. I love it actually. I love capturing the smiles of others and their happiest moments.” You take a small sip.  
Ryan rubs the back of his head. “I’ve had people ask me if we were dating. It’s really weird.”

“You know I love you and all, but I don’t think you should let that bother you.” You admit, glancing at the sun. “I mean, don’t get me wrong and all, and I would totally date you, but right now isn’t the time for that.”

He holds up his free hand. “I know, I just thought I should bring it up. It was a little weird.”

You give him a patient smile. “Its fine. Don’t worry about it.” You admit, screwing the cap back onto the bottle. “Can you go get the bride and groom for me? Let them know that I’m ready to take their pictures.” Ryan nods before going into the small house the find the couple.

A soft sigh escapes your lips as you glance back up at the sky. If you weren’t in the predicament you would happily date him, but now wasn’t the time. Especially because your wounds are still healing under all the foundation and make up.

 

The pictures take no more than thirty minutes. You take pictures with just the two, formal pictures. Something their family could look back on. The last few pictures are with the family and all of it. Grandchildren, nephews, nieces. Everyone. It’s a great thing to do, just being able to capture the happiness in all their faces (and the annoyance in the younger kids' faces).

The bride thanked you for taking pictures and even mentioned how much she enjoyed your work. The groom also mentioned that she had recommended you to some of her friends if they ever needed a photographer. You couldn’t lo but smile at that. 

One of the younger kids tugged at the skirt of your dress when you finished putting up your camera for the time being. You kneel down and look at him. He offers you a small flower, saying that it’ll look great in your hair. He’s about five years old.

Ryan takes the flower and slips into your hair. The sweet aroma engulfs you. Gently, you ruffle the little boy's hair before letting Ryan help you up. A few people nearby mutter and gossip about how cute the two of you are. It causes you to flush a soft pink in embarrassment.

Ryan places his hand on your hip. You give him a small glare. He leans in, breath tickling your ear. “Just for today, let’s give them what they want. If they think we’re a couple, then let’s show them.”

You give a soft sigh. Something you’ve been doing a lot lately. “Fine, but just this once.” You mutter. You’re going to need a drink after all of this and desperately.

 

After the ceremony, you find yourself staying by Ryan’s side. Mostly because he’s willing to hold your glass when you want to take a picture. “You should cool it with the alcohol.” He warns, not wanting to give you your fourth glass.

You give him another glare. “I can hold my alcohol.” You admit, holding your hand out for the glass. “I’m twenty-five. I’ve had my share of drinking in college. So if you could please?”

Ryan sighs, letting you take back the glass. You smile, taking the glass and taking a long sip. “You aren’t driving home.”

You glare at him. “I didn’t drive here. You drove me. So I will not be commuting any crimes today.” You give him a sarcastic smile, flagging down the server for another drink.

“I should take you home soon. I don’t nerd Mark yelling at me because I let you get drunk.”

“I am not drunk. Maybe after this glass I will be.” You announce, taking the glass from the server. Ryan promptly takes the glass from you hands and hands it back to the server.

“Put her on the no more drinks list, she has had enough.” You groan at Ryan's insisting behavior. “You are coming home with me, now. All your job was to take pictures. You have enough of those. Which means it’s time to go home.”

You silence a burp, patting your chest lightly. “You know, if I hadn’t been dating Jacob, I would be dating you.”

“That’s the alcohol talking. I know you’d rather be dating Mark. I can see it in your eyes every time you speak to him.”

“Yes, but that’s not the point.”

“___, you’re beautiful. Beautiful enough to be a model. And I love you, I really do. But I’d rather not ruin the friendship we had because of something stupid you said when you were drunk.”

You blink. “You think I’m beautiful?”

“Yes, but like I said-“ you shake your head, giving him a light peck on the lips.

“That’ll be our little secret.”

“Maybe it’s time we go home.”


	5. Morning After

Groaning, you roll onto your side and pull the covers over your head. Chica is barking in the living room and you can hear Mark trying to hush her. Your head is ready to burst, everything is a blur. But to be honest, you needed those drinks. Mark is also currently failing at trying to get Chica to stop barking and to be honest, you’re in no mood. 

Kicking the covers away, you sit up groggily. Luckily today you don’t have to do much work but make sure that the pictures from the wedding yesterday came out perfectly, at least to the client’s standards. 

“For the love of all that is fucking holy, can’t I get some silence?” You hiss, opening the door. Mark is wrestling Chica to get her onto the patio. He comes back in and smiles weakly. You glare at it him. “I am in no mood to do anything, let alone listen to Chica bark all day.” You say, rubbing your temples. “Please, just for a little while.”

Mark holds his hands up in defense. “Sorry, ___, if you want, you can use my room for your work. I’ll try to keep the noise to a minimum. As long as you let me bug you every once in a while to make sure that you’re fine.” A small smile forms on his lips. You can tell that he’s holding back on everything he wants to say. He’s holding back all his worry and he’s holding back on babying you. Honestly, you would let him but you do need to get started on work.

“I’ll accept your offer. I’d love some coffee and a light breakfast. You know, in case I can’t hold anything down.” You give him a weak smile. “But I should take a shower first.” You say. To be honest, you weren’t even sure how you got home. Or how you even got into bed. Mark chuckles at the confused look on your face as bits and pieces of the night before.

“Don’t worry, I was the one who changed you and got you to bed. Also, don’t worry, I wasn’t looking which was very hard.” 

You stand on your tiptoes and kiss his check. “Thank you for that, but I need to take a shower. I’ll see you in a few minutes.”

 

The shower was heavenly. The warm water was enough to loosen your tight muscles. It was great. Today, you dressed in a Harry Potter tank top and matching bottoms with your house on the left leg. Your run your hands through your hair, shaking water from the ends.   
Ryan is in the living room, searching things on his laptop. He doesn’t look up at you. Mark is nowhere to be seen. 

“Hey, have you seen Mark?” You ask, stopping beside the couch.

“He’s in his room. Something about getting his room cleaned up so you could do something. I wasn’t paying much attention.” He gives you a lazy shrug. He’s not much help.

“Right. Thanks.” You mutter, heading towards Mark’s room. You can hear him swearing as he tries to put things away. You giggle, leaning against the doorframe. “You sure have a potty mouth, Mark. Didn’t know that about you.”

He closes his closet and smiles. “Come in and have a seat.” He says, motioning to the comfortable seat. “My recording space is your office for the meantime. I have a preposition.”

You take a seat and look up at him. “It’s not a stupid one right?” You ask, admiring his set up. 

“After you finish your work, can we record a video together? I won’t upload it you don’t want me to. It’ll just be our little thing.”

“Only if it’s the Sims. I fucking love that came. Nothing feels better than controlling people and having them do whatever you want.” You say, opening up a window and heading to your cloud where all your photos are saved.

“Okay, it can be the Sims. But you’re going to be playing it though. I’m still not the best at playing.”

You can’t help but chuckle. “You are bad at that game. But I’ll show you. Don’t worry about it.” You click on the file with yesterday’s pictures and scroll through them.

“They look happy.” Mark says, getting down on his knees so he can be next to you. He’s silent afterwards, admiring your work. 

“They were or are. You can tell how much they love each other. It makes me jealous. Jacob never looked at me like that. Guess that should have been a sign that it was a failing relationship.”

“Now is not the time to think about that asshole and you know it.”

You stay silent, clicking on the best pictures and sending them to your phone. You have to go print them before sending them off to your client’s. 

“Did you have fun last night? I mean, it looks like you did. You drank a little too much.” Mark asks, using the table as support to stand up.

“I did. It was a beautiful ceremony though, the reception beat it by a long shot. Everyone was so friendly. It was amazing. And Ryan was the best date ever, he was sweet. I think that if he wasn’t there as my date, all the younger ladies would be all over him…” your voice trails off as you remember something from last night. 

You kissed Ryan. Sure, it was a kiss caused from the alcohol. But everything made sense. He was being blunt because of it. You let out a groan, rubbing your face with your hands.

“What? Did you mess something up?” He asks, his eyebrows furling with worry. “Is your head hurting?” You wave him off.

“It’s nothing.” You say, looking back at the screen then at him. “Some Sims might help though.” 

 

After Mark set up his computer and recording software, he let you start up the game, pulling up a chair next to you.  
“You don’t have to be nervous.” He says, giving a test run with the mic and camera. You glance at him.

“Me nervous? I am a photographer for a living and my best friend, that’s you, makes YouTube videos for a living. What the hell do I have to be nervous about?”

“Okay okay, I’m sorry for assuming that you’re nervous. It’s just a normal thing for people.” He mutters, adjusting his chair. “Now, watch as I make magic happen.” He starts up the program and the camera. “Hello everybody! My name is Markiplier and welcome back to Sims 4!” You shift in your seat, giving the camera a small wave. “And we have a special guest with us today. Why don’t you introduce yourself?”

You clear your throat. “Thanks. Uh, hi guys, I’m ____, I’ve been friends with this dork since I can remember. Uh, fifteen years or so. So since we little. I’m just ballparking the years. I’m a professional photographer, and that’s pretty much it.”

“Short and straight to the point. ___, has had a bad week, and to make it up, we’re hanging out and she said she wanted to play Sims, so how could I say no?”

“You could’ve just said no. Just like how I could have said no to doing this video with you. But I love you, so I couldn’t say no. So onto the game!”

Nearly two hours later, you wrap up the video. Stopping every so often to redo the intro for the next video. You had fun. You let Mark design the characters. He went with weird looking ones, except for himself of course. However, you took over when it came to building the home and getting everything started. It went fairly nice, until Mark decided to take over. That’s when the small family went broke. It was beyond saving at that point. It would take another two hours to do so.

“Thank you for ruining my perfect family.” You say at the end, standing up to stretch. To which replied saying that it had to be done. You playfully smack his arm, leaving the room to get something to drink. 

Ryan is entering the house from the patio. He had let Chica and Lego out to do their business. You give him a small smile, grabbing a cup to pour yourself a glass of juice.  
“Can we talk?” Ryan whispers next to you. You look back him. “Look, I’m not going to make a big deal about what happened last night. I was just, I don’t know. A little confused about the kiss and all.”

“It was my fault.” You admit, tucking a strand of hair behind your ear. “I shouldn’t have done that, I was out of-“ Ryan cuts your sentence short by pressing his lips against your lips. The kiss lasts for several seconds until he finally pulls away. 

“It opened my eyes to everything. It made me realize that I do have feelings for you. I don’t want to rush you, but I’d like it if you agreed to be my girlfriend.”

You stay silent, not sure what to say. You focus your gaze elsewhere but that’s when you notice Mark standing just a few feet away. Your heart sinks to your stomach. He saw and heard everything.


	6. Feelings

Quickly, you move to the side. In attempt to get away from Ryan, you knock down the glass from the counter. Cursing, you kneel down and start picking up the bigger pieces but stopped when someone touches your back. 

“I’ll clean it up.” Ryan mutters, helping you up. Sighing, you wash your hands. “You just scared her, that’s all.” He says.

“I didn’t mean to show up out of nowhere. Sorry.” Mark gives you a weak smile. You just wave him off. 

“Don’t worry about it.” You assure him. “I’m just clumsy.” You give him a weak smile in return. “Oh, I was thinking of looking for an apartment. You know, so I can get out of your hair.”

“But I love having you here.” Mark says, gently touching your shoulder. “You’ve been here for three days. I want you to stay as long as you need to.”

You stay silent. The feel of Ryan’s lips still linger. Maybe he didn’t see anything. If he didn’t, there was a chance that he thought the two of you were just talking.

“But if you insist on looking for an apartment, I’ll help you look for one. I don’t have much to do today.” He adds.  
“Right. Why don’t we go do that?” You say, taking his arm and heading back to his room.

“I wasn’t done talking to you,____. Mark, do you mind if I steal her from you for a little while longer?”

Mark looks back before nodding. “I’ll start the search and find a perfect apartment for you.” You give him a small smile, kind of hoping he did mind when Ryan spoke up.  
Ryan lets out a soft sigh. “I’m sorry okay? I didn’t mean, well, I did mean to kiss you. But I keep forgetting that you’re still healing over everything that has happened.”

“Ryan, you can’t do this to me. Mainly for the same reason you just gave, I’m not ready. I mean, who wouldn’t be ready? I spent ten years with this asshole. I was already planning our wedding when I find him cheating on the goddamn intern. And not to mention, I’m going to be called in to the stand when he goes on trial. Mark will probably be called in too. You just- this isn’t something that is supposed to go away after two kisses. It doesn’t work like that, I need some time to find myself and just be by myself. That’s it. No talking of relationships. No sneaking kisses. None of that.”

“But does that mean we can’t…?”

“Go on dates? Let’s not call them that, let’s call them… outings? Date is a romantic word. So outings will be fine. But not for a while though. At least until I find a new apartment to get out of your hair. Can you do that much for me?” You ask, looking him in the eyes. 

“Just for you. Because you asked. I’ll do it.” He agrees, giving you a small smile. “Even though I don’t like it, but I’m willing to do it.”

You pat his arm. “Now, if you excuse me. I have to find a place to live. Because honestly, I’m not your maid.” You give him a sarcastic smile before heading into Mark's room.

 

“Oh my God, that apartment looks beautiful. Its just what I need. Two bedrooms. One that I can use for an office. A small kitchen and a big enough living room.” You let out a happy groan. “Can we go see it? Please? It’s still early.”

“Okay, we’ll go look at it. The pictures on here don’t do it justice.” He says, grabbing his phone to call the landlord.

“Took the words right out of my mouth. That’s what fifteen years of friendship does.” You smile happily. 

“Its all set. We can go look at the apartment at two. The landlady said she’d give us a tour and a layout of what is covered and the rules.” He says. You clap your hands. “I know, I’m awesome.” He grins

“You are awesome. But it’ll be even better if I get the apartment.” You can already see it. Your office set up and your room decorated with your favorites nerdy things. 

“Did I mention that it’s in the neighborhood next to ours? Fifteen minutes. That way if you need any of us, we’ll be over in an instant.” 

“Officially, you are amazing. It only took fifteen years, but I now see that you’re amazing.” 

Mark grins, waving to imaginary people until he stops. “You’re now just thinking I’m awesome? Harsh!” You giggle, getting up only to be pulled onto his lap. “I’ll show you who is awesome.” He suddenly starts tickling your sides. Your one weakness that he knows and he’s using that to his advantage. Within seconds, your laughter rings out.

“Come on! Stop it!” You struggle trying to get out those four simple words. It is your one weakness. It had been since you were younger and he used to it his advantage. And it often works and you hate it. “Mark!”

He stops, noticing the seriousness in your voice. “Sorry. I just wanted to hear your laughter.” He let’s you slide off his lap. “Let’s g get lunch before we check out the apartment.”  
“At least let change. These are my lazy clothes and will not get me an apartment if I don’t look decent.”

“I’ll wait for you outside.” 

Giving a soft sigh, you slide your digital camera into your purse. You’ll never lose an opportunity to take pictures. Especially if the scenery is beautiful. You make sure your phone and wallet are in your bag. Adjusting your Navy blue skirt with white anchors, you head out of the guest room.

“Don’t you look nice.” Ryan says from beside you. You look up and smile. “Did you find an apartment?”

You nod, shouldering your bag. “Actually, Mark found it. And we’re going to go see it and hopefully snag it. Because it is beautiful. And not far from here.” 

“You two have fun alright.” He kisses your forehead, slipping into his own room.

 

“I stand corrected. This place is amazing!” you exclaim, opening your arms. Your voice echoes in the empty room. Mark is looking out of the living room window. The landlady smiles as she leans against the counter.

“I’m glad that you two seem to like the apartment. I’ve been trying to get it rented for about two months. And I think it’ll suit the two of you. It’s small and comfortable. You can start a family.” She gives you an innocent smile.

“Oh, no..” Mark turns back around. “We’re not together. I’m just helping her get back on her feet.”

You smile weakly. “He’s my best friend, that’s all.”  
The landlady raises an eyebrow. “There’s no way he’s just your friend. But what the hell do I know? Times have changed. I’m assuming you’ll take it though.” You just nod. “Great. I’ll go get the lease and the keys. I’ll be back in a jiffy.” She pushes herself off the counter and heads outside.

You smack Mark's arm. “What the hell did I do?” He whines, rubbing his arm.

“It was a love tap, for taking me here. Without you, I wouldn’t be signing the goddamn lease. Thank you.” He grins and wraps you up in a hug. 

“I’ll do anything for you and you know it.”

“Even helping me move in? Because I only know a strong man, and that’s you. I’ll need all your help.”

“You’re calling me strong?” He smirks, his ego getting to his head. “I love you for that.”

“I regret even saying anything. Your head inflates when you get the smallest compliment.”

He grins, tilting your head back so you look at him. There’s a certain kind of glint in his eyes. A happy glint. A lonely glint. It’s a whirlpool of emotions. “I’m glad you’re here with me.” 

You shake you head. Now is not the time to get lost in his chocolate eyes. “I’m going to check out the little balcony. “ You mutter, heading towards the glass door and opening it. The wind picks up. Whipping your hair all over the place.  
You can tell Mark is standing behind you. But you barely make out what he said until he rose his voice. “I love you.” You slowly turn around, not sure if you heard correctly. 

The landlady opens the door, jiggling the keys. “I need your signature dear.” She says smiling at you. You move past Mark and head in her direction. “Just sign in the highlighted areas. You can move in this weekend.”

You take the pen and sign where indicated. So far this week, you’ve broken up with your boyfriend of fifteen years and had two of your friends confess to you. Right now sure isn’t it. But you don’t know what else to do. Your thought process is jammed. 

The landlady places the keys in your hand. “Welcome to the neighborhood, ___.” You give her a weak smile. Now what? You have to choose between Ryan and Mark. It’s going to eat you on the inside, having to choose between your two friends. 

“Thank you.” You say weakly, moving the keys to your other hand. “I’ll start moving in this weekend.” You add, giving her hand a shake before heading out the door. You hear Mark thank her before heading out to follow you. 

“Wait up!” He exclaims hurrying down the stairs behind you. “Please, can you just slow down?” You stop, slipping the keys into your bag. “You seem so heartbroken, why?”

“Why? You know exactly why!” You shout, glaring at him. “What the hell was that?! I’ve been through all kind of shit, and you know it. Then you throw your feelings onto me? Is it that attractive to you? That someone who is struggling to pick up the pieces, has to cover up old scars, has to stress over that? God. I can’t believe you. Fifteen years I’ve known you and you never once said anything. Not once. You had your chance those first five years. But no, you decide to tell me when I’m a my worst. Why?”

“Hope.” He says softly, his eyes showing how sorry he was. How sorry he was for even saying a word. “I didn’t want to say anything. I just couldn’t help it. Seeing you in that empty apartment got me thinking, what if I told her? I know I’m late but that doesn’t cover for the fact that I know just said something.”

“Ryan did the same thing. Before we left, he asked me to be his girlfriend. I didn’t give him an answer, I couldn’t. Mostly because I’m still fighting the shit storm that happened earlier in the week. Would it make you happy if I chose you over Ryan? Because I don’t know what I fucking want.”

Mark stays silent before wrapping his arms around you in a hug. You can tell he’s sorry from the way he rubs your back. But it’s not enough to calm you down. You’re thinking of ways to back out of the situation as a whole. You just need to get away. Maybe you’ll accept a job halfway across the country. Anything to clear your mind.


	7. New Places

Your new apartment is cold. It’s been a week since you’ve moved in. It’s been a week since you last heard from Mark or Ryan. Mostly because you’re not answering their calls or texts. You just want to be alone. You bury yourself in work, hoping for an opportunity to rise for you to go somewhere other than California. At least for the time being. 

Giving a sight for the millionth time, you push your seat away from your desk. Work has been a little slow lately. Every so often, you get a new job request but it’s often simple. They usually consist of family pictures or early Christmas cards. Your phone vibrates in your pocket. You pull it out and check the screen. It’s a text from Mark. He’s asking if you’re home. You swipe the message away, not really feeling up to answering anyone right now. 

Getting up, you grab your bag. Maybe you just need some air, take some time off to take some pictures of the beach a few hours away. Yeah, that’s what you were going to do. Clear your mind a bit. 

Opening the door, you nearly jumped at the figure a few feet away. Mark. He’s standing outside your door. Staying silent, you close the door. 

“Are you going out?” He asks, rubbing the back of his neck. “I mean, I don’t want to bother you or anything. I just wanted to make sure you were fine.” 

“I’m fine.” You say bluntly, moving past him and heading down the stairs. “You didn't have to come all this way.”

“At least have a decent conversation with me. It kills me knowing that you’re acting this way because of me. Please.”

“I was going to the beach. You can tag along. If you’re not busy.” You mutter, glancing up at him. “I was going to take pictures and try to relax.”

 

Mark does join you. He’s sitting in the passenger seat of your brand new Mini Cooper. Your phone is plugged in, replacing the radio. The only think keeping your head afloat is the new album from a boy band. You’re mouthing the words as you keep your attention on the road. The beach is in sight. 

“We miss you, you know?” He says softly, setting his phone down on his lap. “Chica misses you the most.”

“I think you’re the one that misses me the most.” You mutter, not really wanting him to hear you.

“You’re right.” Damn, he did hear you. “I do miss you. Everyone has commented on it. Even my viewers. They’re asking what happened to our serious-not-so-serious videos. They were a hit.” You don’t reply. “I’m sorry. It was stupid of me to do that. I’ll appreciate it if you at least thought about it. Not now, but whenever you’re ready to think about it.”

“What about Ryan?”

“Ryan is just Ryan. He hasn’t said much mostly because he knows the reason and wants you to take your time.”

“I hope you both don’t expect me to choose one over the other. It’s like making me choose between which child to save and which one drowns. It’s not right.”

“Holy shit, that does sound horrible. No wonder you’re ignoring the both of us.” He says, glancing at you. 

“I’m glad you understand. It’s just not okay. My brain is all frazzled and just broken.” You tighten your grip on the wheel.

“Enough of that, I came over mostly to ask you for a favor. The last time you had a serious project was that graduation a few years back. As you know, I travel a lot. And I mean to the point they already know my name.” You glance over at him, signaling him to get to the point. “Right, I have a convention in Seattle in a few months and I was hoping to hire your services.”

“You can hire anyone from the office. It doesn’t have to be me.” You rebuttal, not really wanting to accept the job.

“Let me word it differently, the host of the convention is going to hire your company for the job. But I want you to be one of the people that’s goes. It would mean a lot to me. You’d get a break from California. It’ll only be for a few days.”

Giving a sigh, you nod. “Okay, I’ll accept the job. But don’t expect anything out of me. When is the convention?”

“Its in September. I know it’s a few months away, but I still wanted to ask.” Groaning, you flick him off. “And there’s the girl I know.”

“You asshole, you made it seem like it was two months away. God, for the love of Christmas. Why would you do that to meeee?” You whine.

He laughs. That laughter of his always causes butterflies to start fluttering around in your stomach. You love it but you hate it at the same time. What exactly is he doing to you? “I did it because you wouldn’t have agreed if the convention was next week. You’re an organized freak.”

“You’re still an asshole! And I hate you for that!” 

 

Climbing out of the car, you take in a deep breath of the salty air. You’re finally at the beach. The sun is now starting to set, turning the sky into a mixture of pink and orange. It’s breath taking. Closing the door, you take off your Converse and jump over to the sand. You can slowly feel your worry slip away. 

Mark is a few steps behind you. His eyes watching every moment, not wanting to let anything go. You look happy for once. And that’s all he wants. 

You pull out your camera and set it to the proper settings before snapping a few quick pictures. A wide smile forms on your lips as you inspect them.

“If I would’ve known that you would act this way at the beach, I would’ve taken you months ago.” Mark says, running his hand through his hair.

“I did it for me. I just needed some time to myself. Sort some things out. And I’m sorry I didn’t text or call back.”  
“No worries, I know you by now. Even if I text or call you, I just want to make sure you’re fine.”

You swallow the lump in your throat. You know exactly what he’s talking about. It’s something that’s going to take an even longer time healing. Shaking your head, you look back at him. 

“I’m sorry for all the trouble I’ve caused in the last week.” You look down at your camera screen. Mark smiles a bit before ruffling your hair. His hand is warm and soon butterflies start again.

“You’re no trouble at all. If you were, I would have left a long time ago. But I haven’t. So stop looking so glum.” 

“Honestly, you’re the best thing that could have ever happened to me. If it weren’t for you, I would probably be in China loosing all my shit.”

“Hey, I know what’ll make you feel better.” He takes your hand and leads you back to your car. “Visiting your mom.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like this story could use alternate ending? Like one for Mark and one with Ryan? Which do you guys want and what do you want to see happen?


	8. Trip (Ryan Arch)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay! As you've noticed, this chapter says 'Ryan Arch' as it progresses, there will be chapters that go with certain characters. They're going to be different as you can already tell. There will be a fee chapters that don't indicate who it belongs to because it belongs to the overall plot. I hope you enjoy it!

Your mom is shocked at first when she sees you at her front door. Then her expression changes when she sees Mark next to you. She lets you in, kissing your cheek. 

“What brings you here?” She asks, slipping into the kitchen to prepare something to drink. You sit down on the couch, placing your camera on the coffee table. 

“Tell me, when was the last time you came to visit?” You ask, glancing over at Mark who is scrolling through his social media feed. He glances up at you. 

“A few weeks ago. She’s like my own mom, I can’t just leave her alone. Especially when her only daughter neglects her.”

“I do not neglect her. I came to visit New Years, thank you very much.” You say in a hurt tone. “I love my mom as much as you do.”

He chuckles. “Whatever you say. I’m going to go visit the bathroom.” He disappears down the hall. Your mom appears with the glasses of lemonade.

“So, tell me what’s been going on in your life. There’s a reason you two are here.” She studies you for a few seconds. “You’re pregnant aren’t you?” 

Gasping, you place your hand over your heart. “I am not. But to your surprise, I ended things with Jacob for… two reasons. One, I caught him cheating and two, he beat me. So I figured it was over. But know that Mark is out of earshot, I wanted to ask your opinion on something.”

“Shoot.”

“In the last week or so, Mark and Ryan- you remember him- they both… expressed their affection towards me. And I honestly don’t know what to do. It’s causing me stress.”

“Go with your heart. If you think you’ll be happier with Mark, then do it. If not, go for Ryan.” She says, setting the glasses on the coffee table. 

“Doesn’t really help.”

“I’ll help. A few months ago, I won a contest. The prize was two tickets for a cruise to Mexico. Take Ryan for this trip. You’ll take Mark on some other trip.”

“Mom, I don’t think that’ll help my situation.”

“It’s a five day cruise. You’ll be in Mexico for a little bit then head back. If you don’t run into any problems with Ryan, then you go for him. Mark is a great guy, but he should understand where you’re coming from.” 

You give a soft sigh. “Okay, I’ll do that. But only because I like the idea of you giving up your trip for me.” You give her a loving smile. “Maybe I’ll take advantage and go to England with Mark or something.” 

Mark comes back. “England? Why don’t we just go to Florida? Or New York. We don’t have to go so far.” You give him a small smile. 

“Okay, we’ll go to Florida. Visit Disney World. I heard there have been new attractions added since I went when I was fifteen.” You pick up the glass and take a small sip.

 

A month after you told Ryan about the trip, you find yourself outside the home he and the two other guys shared. You honk the horn impatiently. You’ve been waiting for him for ten minutes and it’s a three hour drive. Giving a groan, you shut off the engine and head towards the front door. 

“Ryan! Come on, we don’t have time to waste!” You bang the palm of your hand against the door. Mark is the one to open the door. He smiles at you, his blue hair sticking out in weird angles. He must have woken up a while ago. 

“Sorry, Mark, I didn’t mean to wake you up. Ryan is just taking his sweetass time.” You roll your eyes, checking the time. “Ryan!”

Ryan emerges from the back of the house, luggage trailing behind him. “Sorry.” He apologizes. “I was making sure I had everything with me. We can go now.”

You smile. “I’ll see you when we get back Mark.” You kiss his forehead before heading back to the car, opening the trunk. “We don’t have time to stop for breakfast. So we’ll have to wait, unless there’s magically no traffic today.”  
Ryan gives you a happy smile, sliding into the passenger seat. You can tell he’s happy for this trip. And you’re glad.

 

“Just eat your damn food.” You say, opening the small bag of white cheddar popcorn. It’s your favorite. “You better be glad we had time to even stop for something.” You open the trunk.

“Someone is just being sassy.” He says, taking the luggage out of the car. “I’m kind of afraid to even be sharing a room with you. You’ll probably kill me in my sleep.” You glare at him, taking out the two passes your mom gave you. 

“I’m only sassy because we could have been late! If you haven’t noticed, I love being super early. Why? Because I just do.” You close the trunk and glance at him. “So less chatting, and more walking.”

 

“God, this place is beautiful.” You hear Ryan mutter behind you. Your room is on the fifth floor and overlooks the East side of the boat. 

“I bet the room is going to look even better.” You say, glancing back at him. “But whatever it looks like, it’s going to be an amazing trip.” You unlock the door.

“Okay, the bedroom beats the entire place. And these are the best rooms right?” He asks, putting the luggage by the door. 

“You’re right. God, I’m going to have to hang out with my mom more often. This place is amazing.”

In the corner the room, there’s a flat screen resting on a dresser. By the wall is a single King size bed with night stands on both side. There’s even a small desk against the bathroom wall. It’s simple but has a certain feel to it. 

“God, I just want to bury myself into the bed.” Ryan says, flopping into the bed. You can’t help but laugh. “But you probably what to walk around before we set sail, right?”

“Actually, no. I just want to sleep. I’m using this small break to catch up on all my sleep. So if you don’t mind, I’m going to get comfortable.”

“Wait, you don’t mind if we share a bed?” You shake your head. “Nerves of steel.”

“No, I’m just too tired to even argue about it.” You mutter, heading to your smaller bag to pull out a pair of bottoms. You have a tank top under your plaid button up. “And the bed does look comfortable. So, if you want to walk around, be my guest. The only think calling me is that bed.” You slip into the bathroom and change quickly, pinning your hair up.

Within seconds, you fall face first into the bed. Giving a groan, you manage to get under the covers. Ryan is chuckling in the corner, watching you. “You seem comfortable.” 

You flip him off playfully. “Its cold in the room, so yes, I am comfortable. It’s still an open invitation if you want to join me.” You pat the empty spot next to you. “I don’t mind cuddling.”

“What the hell, I’ll join you.” He opens his luggage and grabs something comfortable to wear. You can already feel sleep taking over when you feel him climb onto the bed. Instantly, you lean into his body and welcome sleep.

 

You feel something against your cheek. Someone is brushing your hair away from your eyes. “Wake up sleepyhead, you missed it when we set sail.” You groan at the sound of his voice, rolling into your back. “I also order some food, it’s here and waiting for us to eat it.” The mention of food is what wakes you up. “There she is. I didn’t know what you wanted, so I order whatever was recommended.” 

Sitting up, you run your hands through your hair. “You know exactly how to wake me up. Thank you, Ryan. Now come over here so we can eat.” You pat the spot next you again. “Also, I hope you don’t mind us walking around a little bit after eating. I want to take some pictures to show my mom.”

“Of course I don’t. You’re the one who invited me. So we can do whatever you want.”

“We can do whatever you want as well. I know I said to the no date thing, but I think it’s safe to say that this is a date.”

“And that means I can kiss you right?” 

“Yes, that means you can kiss me.” 

“Ever know?”

You playfully glare at him. He grins before leaning in to give you a small kiss. His lips are soft and gentle. His slight beard tickles your face.


	9. Firsts (Ryan Arch)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took a while to get this one out. I just couldn't bring myself to write full on smut. So it's kind of half added. I promise I'll make the next chapter fluff filled.

“Goddammit, Ryan. Hold the fuck still.” You hiss at the male as you try to take a picture of him. After a quick lunch, you both change. He’s wearing a T-shirt, shorts, and sneakers. “Just for this last picture. All the other will be of the beautiful things I find. Now stop fucking moving.” 

You’re close to throwing something at him. The closest thing is your phone and with the heavy duty case on it, you don’t want risk knocking him out. 

Ryan groans and leans against the railing. You give him a sweet smile before snapping the picture. “Did it turn out fine?”

“Yes it did.” You say, deleting the millions of others where he wasn’t listening to you. “You’re tougher to work with than babies. But at least I can get their attention.” You mutter the last bit.

“What else do you want to snap pictures of? Or is your battery almost dead?” You give a soft hum as you check the battery.

“I think this is enough for today. But there is an event I want to do. They have karaoke on the main deck tonight and I thought, hey, why not make our ears bleed by making one another screech into the microphone?”

“I love the way you think. But what time does it start?” He asks, glancing over railing then back at you. 

“Eight. But we’ll only go if we aren’t dying of sleep.” You say, smiling a bit. “But for now, let’s go look at the pool. I might want to take a dive tomorrow.” Ryan smiles, taking your hand in his. Somewhere between yesterday and today, it became a normal thing.

“That sounds like fun.” He says, glancing at you. “But seeing how it’s a family friendly cruise, it might be a little crowded with all the kids around.”

“I don’t mind kids. I love them all the little ankle bitters.” You admit, leading him towards the elevator to get to the floor that held the poor.

 

The pool was full which prompted you to head back to the room. Crawling back onto the bed, you stare at the ceiling. “What are we going to do until it’s time to head to karaoke?” You ask, turning to look at Ryan.

“We could Skype with Mark. He’s been bugging me all day. Says Chica misses us when it’s probably just him.” He says, grabbing your phone from where it had bounced onto the bed. 

You groan, rolling onto his side. “Mark can wait. He’s not going to die.” You hold your hand out for your phone. Ryan gives you your phone back.

“He’s just going to keep bugging us until we decide to Skype him.” He says, sitting down on the bed. He reaches out and runs his hand through your hair. 

“Then we can keep ignoring him. This is our vacation, our tiny vacation. It might be short, but we have to enjoy it while we can.”

“I think I know a way to spend the rest of the time.” He mutters, crawling over to you. He keeps your arms pinned against the bed. “That’s if its what you want.”

You giggle a bit. “I bet this is the only thing that has been on your mind, isn’t it?” You ask, leaning up to brush your lips against his. “Do I have to teach you a lesson?” 

A soft playfully growl leaves his lips as he leans down and kisses your exposed shoulder. All of this is new, especially because you’ve never seen this side of him. 

He lets your arms go before getting up to find a condom. He had everything planned out, hoping he would get lucky. In this case, he was. 

“You had this all planned out, didn’t you?” You ask, sitting up.

He glances at you. “If I told you that I prepared for it just in case, would you believe me?” He asks.

You shake your head. “I don’t think I would.” Ryan crawls back onto the bed. You straddle his lap, taking the small packet from his hand. “But you’re such a sneak.” He gives you a lazy smirk. You can already see it getting to his head. “However, as punishment, I am going to drive you crazy.” 

He groans, pressing his forehead against your shoulder. “I don’t think I’ll be able to handle that for long. You already drive me crazy.” 

You smirk, putting the small packet to the side. “I don’t think you’ll mind if I do it a little more.” Carefully, you lean down and kiss his neck. He takes a sharp breath.

Your movements are slow and precise. While your lips are busy making his neck, you grind your hips against his, earning a low groan from him. “I don’t think I can hold back…” he whined. 

Your roll your eyes, unbuttoning his shirt. “In that case I’ll give you what you want.” Once his chest was exposed, you let your fingers trail down his stomach to the waistband on his shorts. 

“Please?” He pants out, gazing up at you with a loving gaze in his eyes.

“Keep your pants on.” You mutter, pulling your tank top off and tossing it to the side. Ryan swallows, keeping his eyes on your black lace bra. “You’re such a teenage boy…”

Ryan pushes your skirt up, not really wanting to wait much longer. Your putting it off is getting to him, in a good way at least. You smirk knowingly. 

“I’m not going to hold back.” He says, his voice deep with lust. You roll your eyes, shifting your body so you can pull his pants down.

His next movements are quick. Within seconds, his boxers are gone and the condom is in his hand. He’s more than ready and so are you. “I don’t want you to hold back.” You say, watching as he rips the package open and slides the condom over his member.

He gives you a sly smirk as you lower yourself onto his length. Your warmth envelopes him. Ryan groans, digging his fingers into your hips. Pleasure crosses his face. His thrusts are gentle at first, letting you grow accustomed to him.

Giving him a small nod is enough for him to pick up his movements. His hands slide up your waist and up to your breasts. He gently massages them. You’re quiet, but on the inside you’re screaming. 

 

The action lasts for a few minutes before Ryan cums, his hands holding you by the waist. You soon follow with your own orgasm, bracing yourself with your hands against his chest. When the euphoria dies down, you give him a weak smile. You’re tired beyond belief. Maybe karaoke was going to have to wait. 

Ryan reaches up and brushes your hair out of your eyes. Sitting up, he hugs you gently, his body lightly pressing against yours. “I love you.” He whispers against the crook of your neck.

This is the second time hearing those words, but the first time you actually believe them. Butterflies start swarming your stomach, sending you into a small realization. Did you harbor some kind of feeling towards Ryan? Or was it something else? Did you love Mark? No, that couldn’t be the case. If it was, you wouldn’t be with Ryan, naked in the room.


	10. Coup De Foudre (Ryan Arch)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry this chapter took so long to get out. I had it finished over the weekend but never got around to posting it. Next chapter is going to be a Mark chapter. And guess where they're going to go? That's right. Disney, because why the hell not?

 

The cruise ends almost as fast as it started and you really don’t want to go back to your dusty apartment. Since your first time with Ryan, the two of you have been going at it like bunnies. Any time the two of you were in the room, would be used for sex. You were almost certain that you never removed the ‘Do Not Disturb' sign since then.

Loading your luggage into the trunk of your car, you glance back at the cruise boat. You can see the crew getting ready for the next travelers. A soft sigh escapes your lips.

Ryan is on the phone. Mark called almost instantly when you stepped off the boat. And now he wouldn’t leave Ryan alone until he told him everything the two of you did (leaving out the sex of course).

“Ryan, hang up. We have to get going.” You says, closing the trunk. He gives you a small smile, still letting Mark talk. Your patience is being tested and soon enough you take Ryan’s phone. “Mark, quit talking. I’m kidnaping Ryan for the rest of the day. If you call the cops, you won’t get him back.” You hang up and handing the phone back. “Now can we go?”

Ryan pockets his phone and climbs into the car. “He’s probably thinking the worst.” He says when you get into the car.

“He should think the worst. Why? Because you’re the one getting all the sex, not him.” You say adjusting the mirrors before starting the car. “He’s missing out on the fun.”

 

As soon as you were within the Los Angeles city limit, rain started coming down in buckets. A groan left your lips as you turned on your caution lights and had the wipers to the highest setting.

“Was it supposed to rain today?” You ask Ryan. He goes to his weather app on his phone. He’s silent. “One of those heat storms? Great, it’s not going to clear up. We’re better just heading straight home.”

“Yours or mine?” He asks, glancing at you. You scoff. He was only asking because he wants to have sex.

“We are not going to have sex.” You point out. “Which means we’re going your house. You’ve had enough sex for now.”

“Never enough sex.” He mutters, pouting a bit.

“No, you’ve had enough this week. I’m going to kill you if we do it anymore.” You then add, “plus, I’m sure Mark wants to see us. He’ll probably lecture us.”

“I just want to hug Lego. He probably misses me.”

“Unless he hasn’t noticed you’ve been gone.” You say, checking your mirrors before switching lanes. “Hey, do you want to stop by somewhere and get something to eat?”

Ryan looks up from his phone. “Yeah, I could go for some food.”

 

The small diner's parking lot is empty when you pull into it. Mostly because the rain is still coming down hard. Unbuckling you seatbelt, you climb over the seat, you’re trying to find that umbrella. You glance up and catch Ryan starting at your ass.

“Don’t make me hit you.” You say, feeling around the floor until you find the umbrella. “Better yet, I won’t share my umbrella.”

“Sorry.” He looks away, embarrassed that he was caught.

You let Ryan hold the umbrella as you make your way to the diner. As expected, it’s empty save for the two people sitting at the counter sipping their hot coffee.

Quietly, you sit down in a booth. Ryan sits the umbrella under the table, not wanting anyone to step on the small puddle it was creating. The waitress smiles and sets down the menus.

“You two must not be from around here.” She says, pulling out a small notepad and a pen. “Its always nice to have new faces around here.”

Ryan glances at you. “We’re from Los Angeles, we just got back from a cruise and decided to stop to get something to eat.” You say, looking down at the menu.

“A cruise? Must have been fun. I’ve always wanted to go on one. But, congratulations you two.” She gives you a sweet smile.

You give her a confused look. Why did she congratulate you? Ryan clears his throat. “No, it’s nothing like that. We’re not married or together. We just went together as friends.” That’s what she meant, she had confused you two for a married couple.

“Sorry, you two just have that feeling around you.” She gives you a weak smile, “so, what you two like to drink?”

 

Giving a soft sigh, you lean back in your seat and look up at the ceiling. The food was great and you’re stuffed to the point that you don’t want to get up. Ryan is sipping at his juice, watching the rain steadily fall. You give a small grunt before straightening up and watching him.

You barely noticed anything at all until the music grew a little louder. You look to the side, a young girl, about the nine years old asked for the owner to turn up the music. Her favorite boy band was on, which also just happened to be yours. It was a song off their newer album, a song you never paid attention to until now.

_I've got scars, even though they can't always be seen_ _And pain gets hard, but now you're here and I don't feel a thing_

_Pay attention, I hope that you listen cause I let my guard down_ _Right now I'm completely defenseless_

_For your eyes only, I show you my heart_ _For when you're lonely and forget who you are I'm missing half of me when we're apart Now you know me, for your eyes only For your eyes only_

You look back at Ryan who has long since finished his juice and is now just watching the rain. His profile is handsome. Something you had failed to notice until now. It causes the butterflies to start in your stomach. A feeling you knew all too well.

Thunder claps and lightning flashes causing him to break out of his small trance. He turns back to you and smiles. “Are we ready to go?”

At this time and at this exact moment, you realize that deep down, you love him. When did it happen? You’re not even sure. Did it happen all at once or was had you slowly fallen in love with him? Either of them would be an answer. You weren’t going to deny it. You were in love with Ryan


	11. Disney! (Mark arch)

Early in the morning, you wake up to the sound of your phone going off. It’s Mark's customized ringtone, just an audio clip of him going ‘space is cool!’. Groaning, you turn onto your back and grab your phone to answer it.

“Goooooood morning sunshine!” Mark greets in an upbeat voice. You hold the phone away to check the time. It’s seven thirty in the morning. “I hope you’re ready for an adventure filled daaaaay!”

You groan. “Could you not wait until nine or so? I’m still really tired after work. Please?” You beg.

“Absolutely not.” He says sternly. “I am making you take a day off. This day is just for the two of us.” He pauses for a small second before continuing. “You can even dress up like a princess.”

You sit up at his words. “You’d let me do that even if it would embarrass you?” You’re up and making your way to your closet. “I mean, it’s awesome that you’d let me walk around dressed as a princess, but what about you?”

“Me? You’ll just have to wait until we get there.” He says, a mysterious tone in his voice.

“You’re going to be Eugene, aren’t you?” You ask, grabbing a fresh shirt and pants. You knew instantly when he didn’t deny it, that that’s exactly what he had planned. “I knew it. We’re peas in a pod.” You put him on speaker and start changing.

“You better hurry up. Your neighbors are getting suspicious.” He says. In the background, you hear your neighbor, Jack, asking him if he needed help. “No. Thank you, I’m just waiting on someone.”

“Give me a few seconds! I’ll be right down.” You end the call, shove the phone in your pocket and grab whatever you need. Purse, keys and camera.

 

“Sorry for making you wait.” You kiss his cheek, glancing at your neighbor. Jack gives you a smile. “He’s with me. Sorry if he freaked you out. It might be the hair.” You say, running your hands through his red hair.

“Just looking out for you.” Jack says before heading back inside.

He wraps an arm around your waist. “I’m sorry for making your neighbor think the worst of me. It only makes our date seem so much more worth it.”

“And it’s just the two of us? No one else is joining?”

He shakes his head. “Just the two of us. All day at the park. I’m going to spoil you, even if you’re against it.”

“Well, it’s Disney, so just this once you can.” You admit, tapping your fingers against his chest. “But enough chitchat, it’s time to make our way to the park!” He grins at your enthusiasm before letting you climb into his car.

The entire drive to Disney was filled with you singing. Mark sang every once in a while but most of time he was silent, wanting to listen to your energetic singing. But eventually you stop singing and glance at him. “What made you want to take me to Disney?” You ask, leaning against the car door.

“I know you’ve always wanted to go to Disney Land. You’re going to have tons of fun and it’s just going to be amazing to spend the entire day with you. That and you can dress like a Princess.” He glances at you.

“Yes, you’re right. My dream is to go to Disney Land and to dress like a Princess. But I’d rather save dressing like a Princess for when I’m married.” You admit then quickly add, “Not that I’m thinking of marriage already.” Mark just laughs, waving you off with his free hand.

 

The sun is beaming down when you arrive at the park. Even though it’s still early in the morning, crowds are slowly forming. A wide grin forms on your face when Mark hands you your ticket and within seconds you are off, ignoring his calls for him to stop. There’s no way in _hell_ that you’re going to stop. You were in the place where dreams came true! The one place you have wanted to visit since you were little. Sure, Disney World was awesome and filled with things that could make the day go by within a flash, but there were rides and attractions that Disney World didn’t have that the Land did.

“Please don’t run off like that.” Mark says, grabbing your arm gently after he caught up to you. “I can’t lose you. I don’t think the boys or anyone would be very happy about that.” He says, giving you a slight smile. You stand on your tiptoes and look him in the eyes.

“Don’t ruin my happiness for me please.” You say in a joking manner. “If I want to get lost, I’ll get lost. Hell, I’ll join the cast and become fucking Mulan.” You say, giving him a small bow. “No, I’ll be… Ariel, wait, no. That can’t be possible, I can’t swim. Fuck it, I’ll be part of one of the rides. You know, the person who lets people by with their fast passes. I live for the disappointment in the eyes of those who have been waiting in line for hours.”

Mark snorts, placing his hand on the small of your back. “Take it easy there. I don’t need you to be any more excited than you are right now.” You stick your tongue out at him before continuing your walk through the park.

 

To say in the least, you took every ride with a straight face. When adrenaline was pumping through your veins, you’d rather enjoy the feeling mentally than screaming at the top of your lungs. Plus you wanted to save as much energy as possible (especially if Mark was feeling tired and you had to drive the two of you home to keep him from killing the two of you).

“No, Mark, that’s no possible. I’m telling you there are three Little Mermaid movies. Fuck, I have all three of them on my shelf at home. The second one is where Ariel is human and she has a daughter with Prince Eric. The little girl can fucking transform into a motherfucking mermaid!” You exclaim, only to be given a death glare by a mother who was with her two kids. You give her a small smile. “Sorry.”

“Then what was the third one about? She has another kid and that one can’t transform?”

You hit his arm. “Stop it. You know how much I love Ariel, despite the fact that I can’t swim. And don’t you dare laugh.”

Mark holds his hands up in defense. “Hey, I’ve known you forever. I know you can’t swim. Did you forget who had to save you when we were little?”

“Actually, I do. And if I remember correctly, it was my dad who saved me. Not you. You were sitting in the corner of the pool crying because you thought I was going to die.” You smile slightly at the memory of your dad. It was a few weeks before he died that year. You enjoyed the small memories you had with him.

“I’m going to make it my mission to teach you how to swim this summer. And I promise that.”

“Really? Because I also remember you saying that shortly after we graduated high school. And look at me, I’m in my late twenties and I still can’t fucking swim.” You glance at your watch and notice that it’s later than you originally thought. “Christmas, the boys must be thinking that I have killed you and am now burying your body in the nonexistent backyard of mine.”

He chuckles. “No, I told them that I was going to be out the entire day if possible. And now I plan on holding that promise.”

“Oh? Now you’re keeping promises?” You ask, folding your arms over your chest. You watch as he nods and stops walking just a bit before Main Street. “Okay, you’re not going to get down on one knee and ask me to marry you, right?”

He glares at you. “No! It’s way too early for that, plus we’re not even dating.” He quickly adds. “I know you’ve been to Disney World before. Well, it’s not that different. There is one thing they both do, just the times are different. Kind of.” He holds his hand out for you. Slowly, you walk towards him and take his hand. “Can you tell me what time it is?” He asks, glancing up at the sky.

“You have a fucking phone. Why don’t you check?” That earns you another glare and with a soft sigh, you pull your phone out of your back pocket and check the time. “Nine ten, why do you ask?” He stays silent then holds his finger up.

The sound is almost all too familiar and it brings back memories from nights where you and your family lit fireworks. Quickly, you look up with enough time to see the brilliant colors explode across the night sky. A look of amazement crosses your face. You feel like you’re at home after forever.

“Thank you for this…” You say softly, glancing up at him. Mark stays silent and just gives your hand a small squeeze. That itself is enough for you. The lone thought that he was willing to wake up at the ass crack of dawn to take you to Disney Land and you love him a little more for the gesture.


	12. Livestream (Mark Arch )

Giving Chica a pat on her fluffy butt, you let her outside to soak up some unneeded sun rays. If anything, you were the one who needed to sit out in the sun. Matt was out of the state, visiting family and probably getting some from his girlfriend. Which meant that the house was to yourself (not counting that Ryan and Mark were still here). You originally came over to Mark’s request, he said he wanted you to come over to take pictures for some new shirts he was going to start selling. That was not the case. In fact, Mark had decided to Livestream randomly. Great. Now you were going to be as his hand and foot when he wanted snacks. You should have listened to Ryan when he said to run.

From the kitchen, you could hear Mark laughing (probably at something someone said in the chat). “Playing Stardew without me…” You mutter, opening the fridge. If anything, you were going to help yourself to whatever their fridge held. You were not going to stay here and starve. “I’m the one who has thirty hours logged into that game, even if most of it was with the help of cheats.” 

“Are you talking to yourself?” Ryan asks, letting Chica back in. The Golden immediately flocks over to you, circling your legs. She was probably thirsty. You glance at Ryan then shake your head. Maneuvering over Chica, you grab her bowl and fill it up with water. “Then what’s that face for?” 

“I’m just kind of mad Mark is playing Stardew without me. He knows how much I love that game.” You set the bowl back down and let Chica hydrate herself. Her tail hits your leg playfully. “I have half the right mind to go bug him until he lets me play, but I’m not that mean.”

Ryan cocks an eyebrow. “You’re not mean? Do I have to remind you that last week, you yelled angrily at a mosquito for biting you? Then you started yelling at nothing. If I had to say something, it’s that you’ve picked up on Mark’s sudden rage moods.” 

Stomping your foot, you glare at him. “I have not picked up on his sudden rage! I am my own person! You don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about.” Ryan points at you before backing away. 

“Let me leave before you murder me and toss me in the pool.” Once he’s gone, you’re left with just Chica who is still lapping up water. 

“At least you like me. Right, girly?” You ask, kneeling down to pet Chica. She finishes her water then takes off after Ryan, leaving you alone. “Great, even the dog hates me.” 

 

Sighing, you make yourself comfortable on the couch. There’s a large bowl of popcorn and a cold glass of water on the coffee table for you. Everything is rather quiet except for the times that Mark’s laughter rings out. You reach out and grab a handful of popcorn when you hear Mark enter the living room.

“What are you doing over here?” He asks, leaning against the back of the couch. You glare at him. There was no way in hell he had forgotten so quickly that he invited you over. 

“What? Why do you look like you’re planning my murder?”

“Smartass, I will be in a minute.” You throw some popcorn at him and watch it bounce off his cheek. “You invited me over and you can’t even remember that? Wow, don’t I feel loved. Maybe I should just go home. Seeing as you don’t really need me today. I’ll come back another time, when you’re not… you know, Streaming.”

Mark frowns. “You don’t have to leave. Most of the viewers have been asking if you were going to join and I think it would be a shame if you don’t make an appearance.”

“They like little old me?” You place your hand over your heart, acting as if it’s the best feeling in the world. “I feel so special.”

“Please? It’ll make the stream even better if you join. Just for a little bit.”

“Just a little bit? Asshole, you’re playing Stardew fucking Valley. If anything, they’d have more fun watching me play.”

“Fine. You can school me in the game.” He says, holding his hands up. “On one condition, you bring that popcorn with you.”

“It’s got lime and hot sauce on it. I’m not sure you’ll want any.”

“Just get your ass in there. I have to refill my water and take a bathroom break. Entertain them.” 

You grab the bowl and glass and make your way into your room. “You owe me for this!” You exclaim, setting down the bowl and glass somewhere off screen. “Okay…” You mutter, taking his seat. “Jesus shit, this chair is hella comfortable. I don’t think I’ll ever leave.” 

Glancing at the other screen, you watch the comments speed by. It’s a little overwhelming. But you’ll get used to the idea and feel of it. You clear your throat and give a small wave. ’Where did Mark go?’ A viewer asked. “He’s not coming back. He said some mean stuff to me and I kicked him out. Does that answer your question?” ‘Weren’t you in that one Sims video?’ Shaking your head, you answer, “No that was my clone. Hell, I could be a clone right now and I wouldn’t even know it.”

“What kind of stuff are you telling these poor children?” Mark asks as he enters the room. You stuff a handful of popcorn into your mouth. “Don’t listen to anything she says! They’re all lies!!” He makes a motion for you to get up. Chewing, you shaking your head. The chair is too comfortable to give up. He’s going to have to force you up. “First my viewers and now my chair? What’s next, my dog?”

“She likes me more than you anyway.” You smirk. “Plus, you lost your seat because you invited me over only to shun me away.” You glance at the chat. Just about everyone is calling Mark a bad boyfriend. “So I think I should keep your chair.” 

“Fine, keep the chair. I’m going to get another seat. Don’t touch anything.” You wait until he leaves to unpause his game. 

“What the hell is he doing? His farm is so damn weird. Why is there corn everywhere?” You glance at the door. “It’s all about variety! That’s how you make that money!” 

“I told you not to touch!” He shouts from the living room.  
“I didn’t! The viewers did it!” You glance back at the screen. “God, he has barely done a single thing. If you all want a good playthrough of this game, maybe I should do one. Over thirty goddamn hours logged into this game and all my tools are gold and the house is upgraded to the maximum.” 

The chat started blowing up immediately. Everyone wanted you to take over the Livestream. Mark reads as many as he can then gasps. “Do you not like it when I play Stardew? Is she so much better than I am?”

You giggle, taking over his place as main player. “We have to give them what they want. And what they want is me playing this game. Too bad I don’t have my computer here.”

“Which means hand over the mouse and keyboard lady. Now.” You push the mouse and keyboard over. “Thank you.”

You stick your tongue out at him. “While Mark fails at playing this wonderful game, ask me questions. Any kind of question! Well, not the dirty kind.”

“You’re going to regret that in a few seconds.” He says moving his character around.

“This is what I choose to do.” You scan the chat. “How old am I? Same age as the ‘Moo.” You take a handful of popcorn. “Next question.”

“’Moo? Since when do you call me that?”

“Since two seconds ago.” You toss your handful of popcorn at him. “Did I drop put of college? Hell to the no. I graduated unlike a certain ‘Moo. I studied art and media, I specialize in photography though.”

“You don’t have to rub it in my face. I have a great job right now.” 

“Am I dating the ‘Moo? No. Am I dating anyone right now? No one can handle the sass. Will I be starting my own channel? I’m not sure yet. I’ll have to sleep on that.”

“Are they trying to suck you into the never ending hole?”

“Yes and no. They just want to see someone who can play video games and not suck at it.” You smirk. “Where’s Chica? Somewhere in the house with Ryan and Lego. I dunno. She abandoned me. Am I dating Ryan? Why would you say that? I haven’t chosen anyone. I’m sill mending over my last relationship.”

“The guy was a total asshole.” Mark says, pausing the game. “He didn’t deserve her. And she can do better than Ryan.”

“Gee, thanks for that ‘Moo. But now, I have to pee. So I’ll be back.”

 

When you came back from using the bathroom, Mark was sitting in his original chair again. You groan. “I leave for two seconds and you betray me.”

“You’re not getting this seat back. You’re going to have to take it from me.” 

Two could play at that game. Without a single thought to it, you sit down on his lap like you owned the place. If he wasn’t going to give it up, you were going to make him.  
That was something you instantly regretted. The chat blew up, coming up with ship names and already coming up with fanfictions. Laughing, Mark gently leaned forward. “Okay. Calm down. We don’t need an uproar. But I think that’s enough for today guys. You all met the Princess of our lives. I might have her come back on another Stream. Say bye.” 

You smile, waving at the camera. “Bye guys! I’ll see you all next time.” When Mark turned off the camera, you slid off his lap and onto the floor. 

“I hate you for that.” He says, not getting up.

“Aww, did the ‘Moo get a boner?” You tease, patting the ground when Chica came in. 

“No. But I so need a cold shower.” He gets up quickly and runs to the bathroom.


	13. Date Night (Mark arch)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, taking consideration to those who commented, I will not be adding Danny into this story. I'll save that for another time/story. I'll just have to figure out what I'll do with him. For now, just enjoy the small cameos and maybe slight flirting. But he won't be a story branch.

You’re sprawled out on your bed, playing Stardew while Mark is leaning against the bed, his laptop resting on the top of his knees. From where you’re sitting, you can tell he’s editing a picture for his thumbnail. His specialty.

“Honestly,” You say, pausing your game, “it’s been forever since the two of us have even gone out. And I mean the two of us. Not us and Matt or Ryan. But me and you.” You prop yourself on your elbows. “How about it? A date for just the two of us. Tonight. Maybe some sushi or Korean Barbecue, you know, the place you recommend.”

Mark laughs lightly. “Just the two of us? Was Disney not enough for you?” He asks, tilting his head to look at you.

“No, Disney was not enough to fill that hole in my heart. I want something fun. Something that I can enjoy. Not that Disney wasn’t fun or anything, but _food._ How could we not? We can invite Arin and Suzy. It can be a double date.”

“I thought you said you just wanted it to be the two of us. Why would you want to invite the two of them? Not that there’s anything wrong with the idea. I’m just curious.”

“Mostly for business reasons. I may or may not have been asked to become a Grump, you know, because of all my knowledge. Or maybe they want me to be a guest on the show because of my lovable nature. I forgot the reason Suzy told me. I was tired when she called me.”

“You’re just using me!” He exclaims, exaggeration in his voice.

“Actually, if anything, I’m just progressing my career. Don’t think of it as me using you. Unless you want to add me to your own team. You know, as another editor or something.” You give him a lazy shrug and roll onto your bag.

“Now that you mention that, I don’t think that’s a bad idea. It means I’ll beat the Grumps to the punch.”

“Hey, not so fast. What if I say that I have already agreed to it?”

“Please tell me that you haven’t agreed to it yet. I will hate you if you have.”

“You’re acting like I can’t do both things. And no, I will not overwork myself, which I can promise.”

Mark whines, looking at you with those chocolate eyes of his. “Please. I don’t want you working for those nerds. I want you to work for me.”

“Who are you calling a nerd? You’re a bigger nerd than they are.”

“You’re a nerd.”

You sit up and grab his phone from his hands. You scroll through his contacts and call your phone. Within seconds his customized ringtone rings out. Just as the Disney outing, his ringtone is the same, a clip of him going ‘Space is Cool!’ A smug smile forms on your face.

“You are a nerd. And a big one at that.”

He glares at you. “Please, I want you to work for me. And I mean it. You can do side projects with the Grumps. Just as long as you don’t get to friendly with any of the guys.”

You gasp. “Why, Mark. I can’t believe you would say that to me! I am not someone who will just go around flirting with guys.” His glare becomes stern. “Hey, I do not ask for it. If anything, everyone is going to be a friend. You hear that? F. R. I. E. N. D.”

“Get your things, we’re going on a date. Call Arin and Suzy, let them know where we’re going.”

“Does that mean I can choose?”

“Yes, you can choose as long as you-“

“Yes, Mark, I’ll work with you.”

 

Where did you choose to go to? Chipotle. Because why the fuck not? You were in the mood for somewhat authentic Mexican food. You toss your keys to Mark in which he catches them, wincing when the metal hits his hands.

“Why did you give me your keys? Are you giving me permission to drive your baby?” He asks, slipping the keys into his back pocket.

“Actually, I am. But treat my baby with care. I know where you live.” You say, glancing at him. For some reason, you never let Mark touch your car and if you did, it was because you were giving him a ride somewhere. Your Nissan Rouge was your baby and still fairly new, you didn’t need someone who didn’t know your car driving it. But today, you thought you’d make an exception. Why? Who the fuck knows. “Also, I want to sit outside and eat. It’s a nice evening. So nice that it would be a shame to spend it inside.”

“I’ll never understand you, you know that, right?”

“That’s the joy of me. You never really know how I’m going to act. So you should be used to it by now. Then again.” You shrug and jump onto the sidewalk. “But for today, I’ll be a good girl and not embarrass you in front of your friends.”

“They’re your friends too.” He mutters, slipping his hand into yours.

“Okay, our friends.” You correct.

Upon entering the restaurant, you’re welcomed by delicious smells. The last time you went to Chipotle was months ago. And as much as you told yourself to go back, you never really found the energy to do so. Now you had dragged Mark here with hopes that he would enjoy it as much as you did.

“As a side note, get the brown rice, so much better than the white rice.” You say, getting into the small line. “Also, I don’t see them. Use your tall powers to spot them.”

He leans down a bit. “I’m not that taller than you.”

“Seven inches it a big deal to someone like me. I am a tiny thing whose growth was stunted by carrying around heavy camera equipment.” You roll your eyes. “Do you see them or not?”

“Actually, did you ever get confirmation on whether or not they were coming?”

“You have my phone. So check for me please.” You had given him your phone so you wouldn’t be tempted on looking at it while you were driving. Plus, you had asked him to check because it was your turn to order.

“Uh, they said they can’t make it tonight but asked for a rain check.” He says, showing you the screen. “So this really is going to be a date with just the two of us. We can just order everything to go and head on home to relax.” You sigh and finish your order. Mark orders the same thing.

 

In the end, the two of you end up heading home and eat dinner in the comfort of your apartment. But it was all worth it because Mark seems to be enjoying himself. Playfully, you nudge him.

“So, how’s your food?” You ask, mixing up your food. “And please be as blunt as you like.” Once it’s completely mixed, you take a spoonful.

“It’s actually good.” He says, leaning against your back. The two of you are sitting on the ground, back to back, with a Grump episode on the television in the living room.

“Aren’t I the best?” You ask, stuffing your face soon afterwards.

He chuckles, his laugh vibrating against you back. “Actually, you are the best. And I’m happy about that.”

“Aw shucks, you flatter me too much.”

He gives a soft sigh. “I love you.” He whispers.

You lean against his back as well, your head resting against his spin. “I love you too, Mark.”

“You can do whatever you want. I don’t want to stop you as you make your way to the top. Just as long as you remember us little people.” His statement makes you laugh again.

“Little people? Mark, you have what, twelve million subscribers? I will never forget you. You’re a big part of my life and I can’t imagine myself without you. That much I know.”


	14. It's The Hair

Rolling onto your back, you stare up at the ceiling. Today is another day of work. Sure, you were the one who asked for all of this on your plate, but you could only do oh so much and today was going to be a busy day. You were dreading getting up because you knew that within a few seconds, you were going to be swamped with work. And all kinds of work too.

Today, you had to go see your clients who wanted family pictures taken before their youngest child was born. You weren’t against it, but you were hoping the wife would go into early labor and postpone everything. Unless she wanted you to come to the hospital and take pictures of everything. That’s certainly where you would cross the line. As much as you love babies, you’d rather not see them make their entrance to the world. At least not for another couple of years.

“You have to get up, that’s the only way you’ll get money to pay for this place…” You mutter, running your hands through your hair. Light is bleeding through the curtains. It’s probably past ten. If not, then you still have a little bit of time to waste by lounging in bed. What you’d do in order to stay in. But you can’t. Sadly.

Rolling onto your side, you reach out and grab your phone. It’s five past nine. Not as late as you thought. But you still have to get up. Maybe you’ll get a puppy or something. Anything to keep you company in this empty apartment. As soon as you slid out of bed, your phone started ringing. Groaning, you answer the phone. “Hello?”

There’s shuffling on the other end followed by, “oh shit. I wasn’t expecting you to answer so soon.” There’s a giggle in the background. “I didn’t wake you, did I?”

You run your hand over your face. “Actually, you didn’t. I’ve been awake for a while.” It’s Arin. He probably wants to go over something real quick. “What’s the matter? Do you need me to come in today or something?”

“Actually, we were hoping if you could ditch whatever work you had to do today and come into the office a few hours earlier? Kevin can’t come in, came down with some kind of stomach bug.”

Sighing, you stand up. “Yeah, yeah. I’ll come in early. Just… let me get dressed and fed and I’ll be right over. Shit, I have to tell Mark too.” You mutter the last part.

“You can bring him with you. We don’t mind having him around. We could record something with him, it’s a little more than over do.”

“I’ll get on that. Thanks for calling me. I’ll see everyone in an hour or so.”

Your clients weren’t too happy when you called to tell them that you had to postpone, that was until you heard some familiar noises in the background. It sounded like they were in a hospital. And when you brought it up, the husband confirmed that his wife was admitted to the hospital overnight with some minor complications. With a bit of insisting, they agreed to reschedule until the wife was feeling better and out of harm’s way. Which just left one thing left to do. Call Mark.

“What’s the matter, Babe?” Mark asks when he answers his phone. Babe? Since when did he call you that? Whatever that was the least of your worries right now.

“Arin called and said Kevin can’t make it today. Apparently he caught some kind of stomach bug. And I’m sure they don’t want to be around him when he’s all pukey. I know I wouldn’t want to be. Fuck that shit right there.”

“Just get to the point will you?”

“Well, they want me to come in and take his place for today on top of what I already have to do for them.” You take a deep breath. “And I told them that I’d be right over after I told you. And so that’s where we are now. Also, Arin said you can tag along, you guys can record a video.”

“Okay, I’ll go with you. You just need to calm the hell down and take a deep breath. I’ll be that one thing that keeps your sanity in check. Let me just tell the boys and I’ll come by to pick you up.”

Taking another deep breath, you smile to yourself. “Thank you, ‘Moo. I’ll have your favorite coffee ready when you get here.”

 

You make sure you have everything with you. Camera. Check. Laptop. Check. Keys and phone. Check. Extra memory card? Check. You have everything. Including the freshly made coffee for that big goofball in your life. Another sigh escaped your lips as you slip your shoes on. Mark texted you a few seconds ago saying he was outside. Good. That way you had time to eat your small breakfast in the car.

“I’m coming!” You exclaim, heading out the door. To be honest, you’re hoping it was just Mark going with you. You didn’t need to keep two hormonal boys at bay today. One was good enough for now. But you soon realized that that wasn’t going to be the case today.

Ryan is halfway out the window as he watches you make your way down the millions of steps. “What the hell?!” You exclaim, shooting Mark a death glare. He gives you an apologetic smile. “I invited one person. And nowhere in between the lines did it say guest plus one. “

“He insisted. But he promised he’d be on his best behavior today. Right, Ryan?” Ryan nodded in response. “See? It’ll be like he’s not even here.”

“I fucking hate the both of you.” You say, making your way to the other side of the door.

“You know you love the two of us.”

“Yes, but I’m starting to wonder why I even like the two of you.” You say, opening the door and slipping into the seat. “Or why I’m even friends with any of you.”

“Because without us, your life would be really boring.” Ryan says, getting his body back inside the car and raising the window.

“I thought you said I’d barely know he’s here. So how come I know he’s here?”

Mark chuckles, starting the car. “Enough you two. This car ride will be quiet. So please. No talking until I say it’s okay.”

That silence didn’t last long. As soon as you started eating your small breakfast, which was a small tub of mixed fruit, Ryan was all over you. Every two seconds, he would reach over and try to take whatever kind of fruit was at the top.

“I swear to fucking God, Ryan. I will fucking tear your arm off if you try to touch my fucking food one more time. You had your breakfast and I have not. So back the fuck off before I punch you.”

Mark clears his throat. “Please, you’re going to awaken the beast within. You don’t want to deal with her when she’s hungry.”

“All I want is some of that yummy fruit she has in the Tupperware.”

“And all I want is for you to back the fuck off. You never get what you want. So please. Sit your ass down.” You snap. Mark laughs, taking his coffee thermos and taking a sip.

“Hey! She brought you coffee? That isn’t fair! At least give me some of your fruit.”

“Oh my god, I swear, I will jump out the moving car if you don’t stop complaining. I thought Mark was going to be the only one tagging along. Mostly because I asked him to come. I didn’t plan on you tagging along as well, so please. Just fucking drop it.”

“I was just-“

“Ryan, that’s enough. I’ll get you something when we head back to the house. ___, is going to be home late. But we’ll be home early.”

You honestly felt like an asshole for snapping at Ryan. But you couldn’t help it, he was on your ass. And you couldn’t just sit there and take. Not again, you’d learnt your lesson.

 

As soon as the car was put in park, you grabbed your things and hit the hills for the office. You didn’t need anyone asking if anything was fine. The event from early had already made its way out your system, but you knew you didn’t have time to lounge around and act friendly to everyone. Especially because they were waiting on you.

“Hey, Lovely. You’re here.” Dan greets, a shit eating grin on his face. That hair of his was always disheveled as always. You honestly thought that was his most charming feature, aside from his voice of course.

“Show me where I’ll be working for the day, Danny. I can’t let you guys get behind.”

“it’s fine, Barry is already on it for the most part. We’re waiting for everyone else to show up.”

“And here I sound like a workaholic.” You sigh, shifting the weight of your bag. “Sorry. I’m just kinda-“

“That’s my fault. I was getting on her nerves in the car.”

“You brought guests.” Dan didn’t seem too happy about Ryan and Mark tagging along.

“Mark was planned, Ryan, not so much. Also, that sounds so much worse than what I meant.” You laugh, running your hands through your hair. “Sorry.”

“You need a real breakfast.” Mark says. “Ryan and I will go get something for you real quick. Give us… half an hour and you won’t be such a mess.”

“Thank you for offering.” You blow them a small kiss, in a soft of joking manner.

“Uh, fuck, right. Ross wants to record a Steam Train episode with episode. You just have that personality for entertainment. And no, you won’t be editing the video.”

“Awesome. I’ll be using your fame to gain my own fame. That’s not weird at all. Mind if I just put my things-“ Your sentence is cut short when your vision is obscured by a big mountain of brown curly hair.

“We need to talk.” Dan’s voice is so low, that it sends a shiver down your spine.

“About the Grumps or…?”

“About me. My feelings.”

You shake your hands. “No, Dan. We, absolutely not! We never- shit, I’m sorry if you’ve been thinking about it that way. I didn’t- I never meant to come off as flirting. I’m just being nice. You’re a great guy and all, but I don’t like you that way.”

“Fuck, I knew there was a reason Mark was here with you. Tell me the truth, are you dating?”

“No, why would- no. The answer is no, Danny. I don’t- I’m not ready for a relationship. I don't know how much Mark or Arin has told you, but my fiancé, I caught him cheating with my intern at the time. Then he beat me. Okay? Is that a good enough answer? I don’t want a repeat of last time. Not now, not ever. I’m really sorry I can’t return your feelings.”

Dan gives a sad giggle. “No, I understand I really do. And fuck me for even bringing it up. I didn’t know the extent of it. That guy, he deserves all kind of hell for doing that shit to you. You sure as fucking hell don’t deserve it.”

“Dan, it’s fine- I’ll be fine eventually.” You shrug. “I have tons of great friends looking out for me. So I’ll be fine.” He giggled, pushing his mountain of hair out of his eyes. “Though, you might have thought I was flirting because of the way I looked at your hair. It’s just so fucking fluffy. I can’t –“

“Dan, I’m going to have to kidnap her for a moment. We need to start recording in order for her to be free for the afternoon. You know, when all the editing has to take place.” Ross says, glancing up from his phone

“Yay, work!” You shake your hands enthusiastically.

 

You and Ross record Who’s your Daddy? Mostly because you begged him for that. Then he chose the second game after refusing to call you ‘Daddy’ the entire video and not looking directly at you. Once those videos are done, you make your way to where Suzy told you you’d be working for the day. A spare desk.

“Mark's here.” She whispers, giving you a knowing smile. You smack her hand.

“Don’t start spreading rumors. Especially because you don’t know the entire story.” You say, setting up everything to edit a handful of videos. Kevin could do the rest (assuming he was feeling better by tomorrow).

“I’ll leave you two love birds to do your thing.” With that, she leaves, leaving you confused.

“I brought you some dinner. I knew you’d be starving by now.” Mark says, setting down a bag in front of you. He then kisses your forehead quickly.

Barry gags in the distance. “Please tell me if I have to leave the room for the two of you to make out.”

You shoot Barry the bird before opening the bag. Inside is a Styrofoam tray of your favorite Chinese foods. You moan. “I hate you for this, you know. But I love you at the same time.”

Mark pulls up a chair and sits next to you. “Was recording with Ross fun?” He asks, taking the spare spoon and taking a handful of rice.

“He was a little salty that I kept winning. Also, he wouldn’t call me Daddy, but that was the highlight of my day.” Mark laughs. “Also…” You lower your voice, “Dan said he likes me, but I turned him down. Sure, I like his hair and his voice, but he’s just a friend.”

“Good.”

“I don’t need anymore guys after me when I already have you and Ryan.” You mutter, taking a spoonful of rice as well.

“But we’re the best aren’t we?”

“I could do better, in my opinion.” You say bluntly.

“I hope you two aren’t making out over there.” Barry suddenly says. The two of you laugh.

“No, Bar, she’s just stuffing her face right now.”

“And not in the sexual way!” You exclaim, hitting Mark’s arm.

And that got you thinking, you like Ryan and Mark. Hell, you love them in a more than friends kind of situation. But how exactly would that work out? You slept with Ryan and you’ve kissed both of them. What in the hell were you going to do?


	15. Stuck

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A lot of you seem to like the fact that the story has to routes, but would you like for it to continue that way? Or do you want it to turn into a poly romance story? I'd love to hear your feedback because it's always helpful.

“To be honest, I haven’t seen Matthias and Amanda in forever.” You say, turning onto the road. “I think the last time I saw them was when they were still living in that apartment.”

“You’re in for a surprise when you get there. A lot has changed.” Mark says as he fiddles with the radio station. 

“Uh, Mark, if I were you, I wouldn’t touch or change the station.” Matt says, leaning forward. Ryan looks up from his phone and let’s out a grunt in agreement.

“Why not? I don’t think she minds it.”

“Last time one us did that, she had us listen to one of her books on tape. I thought I was going to die.”

Mark glances at you. “Unless you want to listen to Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. I wouldn’t touch.” You say, checking the right lane before switching lanes. 

“Yes Ma’am. …” He rests his hands on his lap. And it’s a good thing he stopped, because you didn’t have an audio book to bore them with. Not today at least, you listened to the ones you had while you were driving to and from the Grump Office.

 

“Just park the car on the side of the road.” Matt says, leaning forward. You make a noise of disgust. “What? Did I offend the Queen of England?” 

“Actually, you did. My car will not be parked on the side of the street. No, sir, my baby will be parked in their driveway. Because if I find dings in my car, I know who to beat up.” You say, pulling your car into the driveway. “My baby is precious to me. Now, if you want me to leave your ass, fine by me, but I will not take you anywhere else.” Matt makes a noise and just scoots back, holding his hands up in defense.

“You’re messing with the wrong lady.” Mark and Ryan say as the get out of the car. 

“And I should know.” Mark adds, running his hands through his red hair. “Also, close your eyes when you get out. I want it to be a surprise.”

“Oh my god, you’re not going to ask me to marry you are you?” You tease, sliding out of the car. At your comment, Mark stutters.

“No!” He looks away quickly and mutters something under his breath before looking back at you. “Just close your eyes alright?” Sighing, you cover your eyes with both your hands, not trusting yourself. “Matt and Ryan, go let them know we’re here.”

“For fucks sake, can you just hurry it up? I don’t like surprises!” You whine, stomping your foot. It feels like an eternity before Mark let’s y look. 

At first you don’t notice anything but when you look to the right, you see Amanda and you notice that’s she has this glow around her. Then the gears start turning in your head. 

“Oh my god, you’re pregnant!” You shout, looking at the people around you for confirmation but they just laugh at you. “You guys are mean! I haven’t seen them since Mark first collabed with Matthias.” You whine. “My one weakness too….”

“Are you going to film with them?” Amanda asks, glancing at you.

You shake your head. “I’m just their driver. I’d love to, but then the teams would be uneven.”

“Great, we can hang out together. You can help me organize some stuff. Then, if we have time, we can watch these guys make fools of themselves.”

“I have a front row seat to that everyday.” You mutter.

“Oh my god, look at all this cute stuff. She’s going to be a spoiled baby for sure.” You say, picking up a onesie. “Kind of makes me want a child of my own.”

“Why don’t you? There’s nothing stopping you right?” 

“Nothing except for work.” You say. “I still take pictures for people but on top of that, I edit for Mark when he needs it and I help the Grumps with various projects. So I don’t really have time for a baby.”

“Are you and Jacob still together?” She asks, handing you a few more articles of clothes to hang up. 

“No, not anymore. I, let’s just say he did some things that can be forgiven but not easy forgotten.”

“Then what about Mark? He’s always been into you, I can tell by the way he looks at you.”

“So does anyone else. But for now, I’d rather work on me. You know? Work, making something out of myself, then go onto the other stuff.”

Amanda nods. “Okay, so, all we have to do is… actually, I think that’s it.” 

You laugh softly. “Sweet. Do you want to go pick up for the guys? We just need to ask them what they’d like.”

“To the backyard!”

 

Your jaw drops immediately when you notice the huge inflatable obstacle course. It looks like is going to be a great challenge. Then you notice the water balloons. It’s going to be even better, especially since you’re seeing your two boys wet. The thought causes you to laugh.“Can we pick up lunch after this? I have to stay to watch.” 

Amanda laughs. “I want to watch just as bad as you do.”  


You walk over to Mark and grin. “This is going to be an interesting challenge. I get to see everyone wet-“

Mark glances at you. “Yeah? Is that like your fantasy or something?”

“After this, it might be. Ryan, promise me you’ll try to keep your pants on this time?”

“I don’t control them, if they want out, they want out.”  
You laugh. “Okay, okay. What do you guys want to eat?” 

Mark and Ryan look at you with lust in their eyes. You regret asking the question. “Pizza it is.” You quickly turn around and dash back into the house. 

“What happened? You look like you’re afraid.”

“I asked a question that could be take either way. But, uh, they want pizza. But we can get salads as well. Just not from the same place. I’ll place the order.”

Amanda heads out to the backyard shortly after the challenge starts, clearly amused by everything. You look up from your phone just in time to see Mark finish his round with his flannel unbuttoned. Now that’s a sight you love to see. But sadly, you have to continue your work of editing pictures and videos. 

You look up again when you hear Amanda laughing. “What’s so funny?” She calms down enough to explain what happened. 

“Ryan, his shorts slipped off.” You chuckle a bit. “It was a sight to see for sure.”

“Eh, I saw it a lot when I lived with them. Whenever they would do a sketch most importantly. And then some.” You mutter the last part. Amanda makes a noise, and a look that means she wants to know a bit more. “We, uh, you know, on the cruise. The cruise was amazing, but if I had to say, that was Ryan’s favorite aspect of it.”

“So what are you going to do?” She asks, setting down a bottle of water in front of you. 

“Honestly, I really don’t know. I love the two of them, I really do. But you know, something like that is frowned upon here. I really don’t want to choose, but I might have to if that’s the case.” You glance out the window. They’re filming another video and they’re all drenched head to toe. Your chest tightens at the thought. “I don’t know.”


	16. Hot and Heavy (Mark Arch)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will now be taking requests from you guys. Do you have an idea you want for Mark or Ryan? Hell, why not both? Go ahead and let me know and I'll type it out and make your hearts explode with happiness!

A sigh of frustration leaves your lips. You’re ting to remember how you got here in the first place. It all happened so suddenly. That’s right, it was Mark's fault. Sitting up, you glance over to the sleeping giant (giant to you anyway). He’s sleeping peacefully. You can still feel his his lips against your skin. A groan leaves you as you slowly remember the nights events.

 

Shifting the phone to your other hand, you answer, “well, I’m kind of busy right now. I’m buried in work. So I can’t really hang out right now. Another time for sure. I’m sorry mom, I know I promised.”

“Honestly, I thought I told Mark to keep an eye on you. You’re going to work yourself to death. And I can’t accept that.” Your mom sighs. “Maybe I should send the two of you on a trip or something.”

“Mom, come on. Sending me on a trip won’t solve anything. And you know it.” There’s a knock at the door. “Hold on, there’s someone at the door.” You head to the front door from your office. “No mom, I’m not dating anyone. Goddammit, enough of the questions. It’s probably Mark.” You open the door to reveal Mark.

“Hey.” He kisses your forehead. “Oh, you’re busy. I can come back later.” You wave him off.

“Don’t worry about it, it’s my mom.” You take his hand and pull him inside. “Yes, mom, it’s Mark. Who else would it be?” You huff softly. “I’ll call you another time. I love you.” You hang up the phone then glance up at him. “What’s up?”

“I wanted to invite you to karaoke with the Grumps.” He says, “just as long as you’re not busy of course.”

“You know I am busy.” You say, motioning to your living room and the office. There are files, papers, and several notebooks thrown around the rooms. “I can’t rally drop everything to go and karaoke.”

“Arin said you can take the rest of the day off. Remember that rain check? Well, that’s hanging tonight. Whether you like it or not.” You sigh, knowing that there’s no other choice but to go.

 

Everyone is in the karaoke room, well, everyone except Ryan and Matt. There was probably a limit to how many could show up. “I’m guessing everyone knew about this but me?” You ask, taking a seat. “Next time remind me to decline.”

“You need some time off. We all love you too much to watch you slowly die because of the work we give you.” Mark says, placing a hand on your shoulder.

“Are we going to do this or not? I’d rather get this out of the way.” Suzy hands you a cup, you can only assume there’s beer or something heavier in it. You want to decline, because you want to be sober enough to remember what happens, if anything happens at all. That’s when you remember that Mark can no longer drink, so either way, he’ll be the sober one. Maybe letting loose this once won’t hurt.

After several renditions of their own drunken versions of songs and Dan showing off as always, Mark is pulled on stage. He has a worried look. You of all people know he’s not a music person even though he’s taking vocal lessons. But you’re kind of worried about what they’ll him sing.

“Give him something from the 80s!” Dan exclaims as Suzy flips through the huge book of songs. Arin leans over her shoulder and chooses one. “This one?”

“Fuck yeah.” Arin replies, leaning back in his seat. Okay, now you’re starting to worry. What in the hell are they planning?

Dan enters the number for the song and tosses the microphone to Mark. “Good luck buddy.” Aw, shit. You’re starting to regret even showing up. You could have had your own karaoke session in the comfort of your home.

The song starts and you instantly recognize it. How? Your dad was just a big 80s fan as Dan was and your mom still had all his old albums and tapes. Maybe you’ll go pick them up some time.

You can tell Mark is nervous as the song starts. He knows somethings about to happen. And you really don’t want to find out.

 

_Girl, it's been a long time that we've been apart_

_Much too long for a man who needs love_

_I miss you since I've been away_

_Babe, it wasn't easy to leave you alone_

_It's getting harder each time that I go_

_If I had the choice, I would st_ _ay_

_There's no one like you I_

_can't wait for the nights with you_

_I imagine the things we'll do_

_I just wanna be loved by you_

Danny and Arin grin when Mark starts singing. They’re trying to set the two of you. They want the two of you together. And frankly, you don’t mind the idea but just the pure fact they’re doing it with songs to provoke the two of you. Two can play at that game. You already have a song in mind.

You look up from your drink and catch Mark watching you, keeping his eyes on you and only you. His chocolate eyes are enough to send the butterflies in your stomach fluttering. God, that look of his is going to kill you.

When the song is over, you tell Suzy which song you want to sing and she nods, telling Danny the number. You’re more than ready to play their game.

 

_Can't keep my hands to myself_

_No matter how hard I'm trying to I want you all to myself_

_Your metaphorical gin and juice_

_So come on, give me a taste_

_Of what it's like to be next to you_

_Won't let one drop go to waste_

_Your metaphorical gin and juice_

A grin forms on your lips as you swing your hips in a sensual motion. To your surprise everyone is quiet, watching you. You can’t be that good of a singer, right?

Mark looks like he’s having trouble holding himself together. He’s squirming in his chair and biting his lip, all things you’ve never seen him do before. Was it possible that you were getting into his mind?

 

Mark’s hands are all over your body when you get to your apartment. His voice is deep and filled with lust when he pushes you onto the bed. “Fuck, I was so close to taking you right on that stage.” You laugh, draping your arms over his shoulders.

“I caught on almost immediately. They’re trying to get us together. Not that I blame them.”

“So you were playing along with their game? You’re a sneaky girl, you know that right?”

You smirk. “You started it. Your eyes never left mine, so I figured you knew exactly what was going on.”

“God, you’re such a tease.” He groans, peppering your neck with kisses.

 

Mark is naked and sitting on your bed with a full erection. He’s more than ready to go and so are you. Your fingers trail over every inch of his body, admiring every crease and every scar. You know the story behind them. Of course, he’s your best friend. And now you’re going to sleep with him.

“I love you…” He says softly, his lips ghosting over yours. His hands are busy with your hair. And you find yourself giggling.

“I love you too, Mark. Always have and always will.”

He presses his lips against yours, hot and hungry, likes he’s been waiting for this for an eternity. Not that you blame him though, you’ve never really been on the market until now.

You slip your fingers through his hair, kissing back in the same hungry manner. You want to close the gap between the two of you, but you know you can't, not yet.

Mark pulls away, his gaze showing how much lust is within his body. “You’re going to be the death of me…” He mutters.

“I don’t think that’ll be a bad thing.” You reply softly.

After a few seconds of silence, Mark places his hands on your hips. “Are you ready?” You dot reply, but roll your eyes. Of course you’re fling ready.

Licking his lips, he positions himself before pushing in gently with a few grunts. You bite down on your lip to keep from calling out. The walls are thin and you don’t want to wake your neighbors up.

Once you adjust to him inside you, you lean up and whisper, “you can move now.” He nods and starts slowly.

He has one hand on your hip and the other by your head to keep himself steady. Small grunts leave his throat as his movements start to pick up.

A small gasp leaves your lips when you feel him hit that spot. You know exactly what he’s aiming for. He wants to bring you over the top.

He slips the hand that was on your hip under your back to raise you up. He wants your body against his.

“Fuck…” You mutter when he hits the spot again. You can feel your orgasm building. Mark smirk, his lips against your skin, trying to leave marks.

“Dammit…” He groans, his movements becoming jagged. He’s close to his own climax. You decided to help him out by matching your movements with his. He let’s out another groan. His speed picks up again. Ramming into that spot, he needs you to come over the edge with him.

His name leaves your lips as you lean forward and press your forehead against his. Heat spills from your stomach to your thighs as your ride out your orgasm. Your fingers claw at his back, not caring about leaving marks.

Mark groans loudly as his load fills you up. Your stomach feels warm. Panting, you smile, pressing a kiss to his cheek.

“I love you, Mark.”

 

You don’t remember what happened after that. You’re too tired and probably fell asleep, curled up against him.

A soft hum leaves your lips when you reach over and run your hand through his hair. You don’t want him to leave your side, but you know he has to. He has videos to record.

Slipping out of the bed, you head to the kitchen to prepare some coffee. After last night’s events, it’s clear to you that you’re madly in love with Mark.

The coffee maker beeps, breaking you out of your small trance. “I knee I’d find you here.” His voice is still filled with sleep when he enters the kitchen.

“You should be sleeping.” You reply, pouring coffee into a pair of mugs. “It’s still early.”

“The smell of coffee woke me up.” He says, wrapping his arms around your abdomen.

“You have to work.” You say, trying to get him back to bed, even though you know it won’t work.

“I don’t I can take the day off. I just want to spend it with you.” He whispers.

You push his coffee mug to the side. “Are you sure about that?”

“Positive.” He murmurs into your hair. “Spending time with my girlfriend is what I live for.”

The word girlfriend sends your stomach into a swirl. It’s the good kind of swirl but since when did the two of you make it official? Was it shortly before you slept? The one part that was a blur.

“If that’s the case, we should spend the day sleeping and eating nothing but bad food. And catching up on shows. How does that sound to you?” You ask, glancing up at him.

He grins, pressing a kiss to your cheek. His stubble tickles. “That sounds like a great idea. Just as long as we don’t have to put on clothes.”

“We will when we ordered food.”

“Not if it’s delivered.” He states, bopping your nose.

“You’re such a doof.”

“Yes, but I’m your doof.” You grin at his statement, pulling him down for a small kiss. You can make do with this. Hell, you’re fucking happy this happened.

 

 

 

 

 


	17. Shattered

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry these chapter are taking longer for me to get them out. But I have finished my semester! So I am free! Yay! Also, sorry there haven't been any Ryan specific chapters. There's just so much going on with Mark that it gives me ideas and I can't keep them all bottled up!

“Wait, you want me to go with you?” You asked, pulling into the parking lot of Walmart. Mark called you about two minutes ago. Normally you wouldn’t answer, but you made an exception. “Are you sure about that? I’ll probably be swamped with work.”

“All my videos are recorded and Matt is editing them. So you don’t have to worry about that end.” You hear Chica barking in the background. “So you’ll probably only have a few videos to edit for the Grumps.”

“Are you sure though? I don’t want to intrude on the convention.”

“I insist you come with me. Please, you’re my girlfriend and I want to share this experience with you.” The moment he says the word girlfriend sends your stomach into a small swirls. “You can take pictures and hang out with the rest of the group.”

“You mean Wade and Jack? I dunno about that.” You park the car and slide out, taking your phone with you.

“You can even sit in the audience. Unless you feel like that’s a little too much for you.”

“Mark, I’ll be fine. I can handle myself. Remember, I’ve dealt with some crazy people before.”

“By the way, where are you? Because the quality of the call just dropped.”

“Walmart. I have to get a few things. Do you need me to pick up some things? And don’t say condoms or I swear I will fight you.”

“Unless you want to make dinner tonight, go ahead and start planning.”

“I’ll make dinner. You pack away. You know where the spare is to my apartment right?” You ask, grabbing a buggy.

“Yeah, same place it always is. I should really just take that spare and let myself in whenever I need to.”

“Take it then. It’s yours. I give you access to my apartment. Is spaghetti and meatballs fine with you?”

“Anything cooked by you would be great and you know it.”

“You’re just trying to get in some brownie points aren’t you?”

“Noooooo.” He denies. “However, something sweet and sugary would be great for dessert.”

“On it already, I’ll get the Sweet Tarts. Anything else?”

“Uh, no, I think that’s good enough.”

“Okay. I’ll see you later. Love you.”

“Love you too.”

By the time you head to the checkout, your cart is filled with several sweets, ingredients for the spaghetti and meatballs, as well as a few beverages.

“Having a party?” The cashier asks. You look up from your phone.

“Oh, no. I’m just making dinner. We have a sweet tooth, that’s all.” You admit.

“Is that a royal we or as in someone special?”

“Someone special.”

“That’s sweet. How long have you two been together?”

“Just a little bit, the relationship is still fairly new.”

The Cashier smiles a bit before totaling up your amount. When you pay, she smiles again. “Have a great dinner.” To which you give her a small thanks.

The drive home is quiet except for the light music playing on the radio and the light pitter patter of the rain. It was one of those random heat storms that happened a lot in the afternoon. You didn’t mind them, in fact, you loved them. Especially at night. They were quite calming.

The first thing you notice is Mark’s hybrid car parked outside the apartment. You’re glad he’s over. He can help you pack and keep you company. You park your car behind him and get out. You notice that Mark is still in his car on the phone. Strange, he would’ve been inside by now. You lightly knock on his window.

“What’s the matter? Couldn’t remember where the spare key was?” You ask in a teasing voice. You notice that he has a worried look on his face. Like he just saw something bad happen. “What? You’re scaring me. What’s that matter?”

“Someone broke in.” He says in a deep voice. “No, yeah, that’s her. Do you want to speak to her? Oh. Okay. I’ll let her know.” He hangs up and looks at you. “I’m glad you weren’t inside the apartment when it happened.”

“What do you mean someone broke in?” You ask, still trying to process everything.

“Someone broke in. They’re probably still in there. The cops are on their way right now.” You glance at your apartment. And sure enough, you notice that the two windows by the door are shattered and the curtains are pulled off their rods.

“Son of a fucking bitch…” You mutter. You fight the urge to run inside and kill whoever decided to pay you a little visit. But the one thing keeping you from doing so is Mark. “God…” You mutter, running your hands through your hair. “I can’t believe it.”

Mark slips his hand into yours. “I’m glad you weren’t in there when they broke in.” He repeats. He sounds like a broken record.

Giving a sigh, you kneel down and kiss his shoulder. “I’m glad I wasn’t. Good thing I was already planning to make dinner.” You kiss his knuckles.

“Are you two okay?” You both look and notice the Landlady hurrying over with a few police officers.

“We’re fine..” You say softly. “I just got home.” You add, glancing back at the apartment. “I’m just… I don’t know… kind of upset that this happened to me.”

“Have you seen any movement since you got here?” A young officer asks, looking at Mark then at you.

“No, not at all. I didn’t want to risk going inside and having someone attack me.”

“How long have you been out here?”

“About ten or twenty minutes. I called the police when I noticed that the windows were shattered.”

The older officer opens his mouth to say something but is cut off when a loud crash comes from inside the apartment. It sounds like one of the bookshelves fell over. Which meant that someone was still inside. The two officers look at each other. The older officer motions for the younger one to call for back up, he then motions towards the door. “We’re going in.”

 

You look out the balcony window and sigh. Several of your things are gone, including you laptop and camera. The officers caught who was inside the house but not the accomplice. There had to be someone else who took the stuff. “Dammit…” You mutter, tapping your fingers against the window. All your work and all the things you had to edit for future videos were gone. All of it.

Mark touches your back. “All your stuff is saved in the clouds right? Extra hard drives?” You look back at him and shake your head. Everything is gone. “That’s a load of shit… god.” He wraps his arm around your waist, trying to comfort you. “I’m sorry this had to happen to you..”

The Landlady knocks lightly on the door. “___, I called them to come repair your windows but they can only come next week.” You groan, leaning against your boyfriend. “The most we can do right now is board them up and hope no one else decides to pay you a little visit.”

“That’s fine. I… we should go get the things to board them up.” You say glancing up at Mark. He gives you a sad smile. “And while we’re at it, maybe some cameras. Do you mind if I install some wireless cameras in the apartment?”

The Landlady shakes her head. “No. Not at all. If it means your safety, then by all means go ahead and install however many you want. And while you’re at it, why not have your friend move in with you?”

You laugh softly. “No, I can’t have that. But he does have access to come and go as he pleases.”

 

“Don’t hurt yourself for my sake, please, Mark.” You say, handing him the box of nails. “I know you’re my big strong man, but please, don’t hurt yourself.”

Mark laughs softly. “And now I have to finish because you called me a strong man.”

“I keep forgetting not to call you that or give you any compliments because your ego just grows.” You mutter. “I’m going to start on dinner. Call me if you need anything.” You quickly kiss him before heading into the house.

Mark didn’t need you for a single thing. He finished everything without a single word. In fact, he caught you off guard when he entered the house and wrapped his arms around your waist.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to move in with you?” He asks, watching you make the cheese filled meatballs.

“I don’t want you to leave the boys alone in such a big house. Plus, I can handle myself here. I can hold down the fort.”

He rubs his cheek against your own. His stubble tickles. “Are you sure? I wouldn’t mind moving in with my lovely girlfriend.”

“Mark. Right now, you don’t need to move in. You have the key. You can come and go as you please. Hell, if you want, start leaving things here. But moving in is out of the question.”

“Okay, I won’t speak of it again. Next time, I’ll just sneak in and you won’t even realize it.”

 

“Wait, so you failed to tell me Jack’s girlfriend is going to be there? Why the fuck wouldn’t you tell me?!”

“It slipped my mind! I’m sorry!” Mark says, apologizing as he grabs your suitcase.

“Right, and it’ll just slip my mind to order dinner when we get there.”

“You’re being a little too feisty and sassy today. Tone it down a little?

“I will not tone it down a little it all comes with the package you sighed up. And no refunds either.”

“That was my fault. But can we hurry it up? We have to drop Chica off.”

Your sass suddenly disappears. “Chica? Is she the car?”

“Yeah, I’m taking her to a doggie hotel. Where she’ll be pampered and loved.”

“I’ll meet you at the car then.” You close the door behind you and hurry down the stars. Sure enough, Chica is in the backseat, looking excited for the car ride. “Hey there girly.” You reach through the open window and give her a few loving pats.

“I’m starting to think that you’re only dating me because of my dog.” He says, opening the trunk.

“Looks like you caught me, Mark. This little pup stole my heart way before you did. Isn’t that right?” Chica licks your hand. “I’m going to miss you. Be a good girl alright?”

 

The line going through security wasn’t too bad. Thank god, because you could feel yourself becoming grumpier by the minute. Even Mark noticed it.

“Maybe we should get you something to eat.” He says, rubbing your back. “I wouldn’t mind getting something. Since we missed breakfast.”

You look up at him, giving him a puppy look. “Please? I don’t want to be grumpy the whole way to Pax. Mostly for your sake.”

He laughs. “Let’s go get something real quick. We won’t boarding for a while.”

And that’s how you found yourself standing in line to get some doughnuts. It's also how you came face to face to the one person you thought you’d never see again. Your ex. Good thing he hadn’t seen you.

Every fiber of your body screamed for you to make a run for it and to never look back. But it was Mark’s presence that kept you from doing so. Now you were hoping your ex wasn’t heading to the same place as you were. You wanted this trip to go smoothly. Was that really too much to ask for?

Mark gently touches your back. “What has you distracted?” He asks softly, leaning down to meet your gaze. “Did you see something that bothered you?”

You shake your head. “No… I just saw someone who I thought looked familiar. But I could have been wrong.” There was no way he could be at the Airport. There was no way he could have gotten out of jail. There was just no way. “I’m sorry. I just, uh, I just need some food in me.” He chuckles a bit.

“Okay. Let’s get you some coffee and maybe a doughnut?” He asks, muttering the question into your hair. “Though, you might be out cold by the time the plane takes off.”

You playfully hit him. “I’m fine with a sweet tea and some chips.” You say, glancing up at him. “I don’t want to sleep on the plane. Because who’s going to keep the monsters at bay?”

“You mean the fans?” You smack him a little harder this time.

“Of course not. I was talking about something else.” You mutter, looking back to where your ex disappeared. You were really hoping he wasn’t back. You didn’t want to deal with him. Not now and not ever again.


	18. The Fun Begins... Not really

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AAAAAAAHHHHH. I AM SO SORRY. I SUCK. OKAY? IM A BIG BOWL OF SUCK! ;-; But here's the chapter! I will totally be updating a lot more since today is my last day of work! So expect more cuteness after this.

Rolling onto your side, you notice that it’s four in the morning. And the last thing you remember is falling face first into the bed. In the darkness you can see the outline of another figure. It’s your boyfriend, Mark. He’s fast asleep. A small smile creeps onto your face. You just loved watching him sleep. He was peaceful when he slept.

Sitting up, you grab your phone and check to see if you have any texts.   
There’s a missed call from your mom and a missed call from Matt. Sliding off the bed, you head out to the small balcony connect to your hotel room. You know your mom will be asleep, so you call Matt. Luckily he answers on the first ring.

“Hey, I didn’t wake you up, did I?” You ask, leaning against the balcony railing. Its humid outside but other than that it feels great. 

“No no, I was just editing some things. I was surprised that you called actually. I thought Mark would be the one to call me first.” Matt says, shuffling being heard from his end as well as a distant meow. You laugh a bit.

“Mark is out cold, so he wasn’t going to call.” You look back at your boyfriend who has rolled onto his side, snuggling the covers. “We’ve had a pretty rough trip. But I’ll let him know you called.” Matt just gives a small hum. “You know, when we get back, we should really hang out some more. I mean, if you’re fine with it and all. And of course if we aren’t busy.” 

“Oh yeah, definitely. Oh, hold on a second.” You hear when Matt sets the phone down and hurries off to go do something. You take this advantage to check on Mark. Who is still asleep. Smiling, you lean down and kiss his forehead. “Hey, you should totally head back to sleep. Pax is going to suck all your energy out. And Mark won’t be too happy to hear that I was the reason you stayed up so late.” 

You laugh softly. “Alright, Matt. You have a good night. I’ll talk to you later.” You hang up and close the balcony door. Glancing at the clock, you notice it’s a little past four thirty.

“Babe…” A sleepy voice says from behind you, “You should be in bed with me.” You turn around and see that Mark is rubbing his eyes. “What are you doing up so early?” 

Setting your phone back down on its wireless charger before climbing onto the fluffy bed with your boyfriend. “I’m sorry honey, I woke up. And decided to get some fresh air.” You kiss his temple, which causes him to smile happily.

“Good, because we have to get up early. Another three hours will do us great.” He pulls you against his chest before burying his face into your hair. “Good night baby.”

You giggle. “Good night.” And with that, you fall asleep only to wake up the next morning by your alarm and to a bunch of kisses from Mark.

Giggling, you finally get up, sort of. “Maaaaaaaaark,” you whine, trying to push him away. His stubble tickles. “Come on, it’s too early for that.” You rub your left eye with your free hand. 

“I have to wake my princess up somehow. Do you not want my morning kisses?” He sounded like he was a little disappointed.

“I do but I don’t need you to attack and drown me in kisses.” You sit up and run your hands through your hair. “Go take a shower. I’ll get your clothes ready.” You kiss his forehead and slide off the bed. “Oh, Matt called.” 

He grunts as he gets out of bed. “I knew I was forgetting to do something. I forgot to call him when we got here.” You smack his arm. “I’m going! Sheesh woman! Who knew you were so bossy!” You laugh, heading over to the suitcases to grab clothes for the day.

 

“Hey hey hey!” You shout, smacking Mark away from your drink. “Don’t be stealing my food.” You sit down next to him. The two of you are sitting in the lobby, waiting for the others to come down. “You have your food and I have my own. Don’t go trying to sneak some of mine.” Mark gives you those puppy eyes of him. He’s trying to win you over. “You won’t win. Even with those gorgeous eyes of yours.” 

“You’re really mean, you know that.” You laugh a bit. “I just wanted to try your drink.” 

“Mark, it is literally the same thing you ordered. That’s what you get for not paying attention.” You unwrap the breakfast sandwich. The good thing about this sandwich is that it does not look like the normal ones you get from a fast food restaurant. It looks freshly made and appetising. 

“You two are so cute that it’s almost sickening.” You look back, failing to notice that when you are distracted, Mark takes a quick sip from your drink. It’s Jack, looking alive and fresh so damn early in the morning. 

“Do you want us not to be sickening? Because I’m sure you two are just as bad.” Mark says, acting like he didn’t do a single thing. 

“You two are going to have to keep it on the down low since you haven't said anything about it.” You glare at Jack. 

“Hey, I'm only helping.”

“Well, I'm going to kidnap your girlfriend then. We could hang out, walk the floor. You know, girl things. You two can do your own thing, but we'll be back in time for dinner.” Mark nudges you. “Okay, back in time for your panel.”

“That sounds more like it.” He grins, slipping his hand into yours. “Are you guys ready to go.”

“Can I finish eating my breakfast?”

“Walk and eat lady.” He picks up you cup. 

“Ugh, you're really mean to me.”

 

For most of the day, you walked around with Jack’s girlfriend, who is a total sweetheart by the way. You took pictures of whatever caught your eye. And purposefully ignored Mark’s texts. Because you love making him wait. It wasn't around lunch time that you finally answered. 

“Hey, sorry about that.” You say, handing your card over to pay for lunch. “I didn't know my phone was ringing. Sorry honey.” You mouth a thank you to the employee. “You were calling about lunch, right?” 

“Yeah, are you two ready for lunch?”

“Absolutely. We're already in the food court. I just bought lunch for everyone. So hurry up.” You make kissing noises before hanging up and finding a place to sit. 

 

Mark and Jack arrived after a while, both taking their seats. “Ah shit, they gave me the wrong thing.” You mutter, grabbing your lunch. “I'll be right back, okay?” 

Taking the receipt with you, you head back over, stopping when someone stops dead in your tracks. 

You immediately recognize his face. It's your ex. Your heart starts racing and you can't find anything to say. What the hell is he even doing here?

“Looks like you're having a little too much fun, Princess. I bet you missed me.” He grins, holding his arms out for a hug. 

“What the fuck are you doing here?” You manage to say, your voice cracking from fear. Mark, please look this way. 

“I came to take you back of course. I got out early for being on my best behavior. Now come on, let's get out of here and make up.” He grabs your wrist roughly.

You wince. “Let go of me!” You try to jerk your hand back only for him to tighten his grip. “Stop it! You're hurting me!”

“Princess, stop being such an asshole! And let's go home! You need to be with me! I need you!”

“I don't need you!” You shout. “You ruined everything and that's your own fucking fault!” 

“No,” he lowered his voice, “you were the one who ruined everything. You didn't have to come home that day. You didn't have to come home at all!”

Red flags are going off now. Your brain and body are telling you to run. To create a commotion. Anything. 

 

"Hey asshole, you know it isn't nice to threaten and grab a lady who wants nothing to do with you?” Mark’s voice says from behind you. “So it would be best to leave before you end up in jail again, alright?” 

“What the hell are you going to do about it, pretty boy? You look like you don't like getting dirty.”

“It would be wise for you to leave.” Jack said, stepping next to Mark. “Security is on their way.”

“And I'm going to make it my priority that you never step a food next to her ever again, got it?”

Your ex lets go of your hand but not before he pulls out a knife and lightly presses it into your side.

“You think it's that easy, huh? I've been with her for ten years. There's no way she's going to fucking leave me! Not now and not ever. Especially not for the likes of you.”

You swallow the lump in your throat. This is taking a turn for the worse and you're hoping you don't end up dying.

“Look, it's over, okay? If she left you, it's because she knew this was bound to happen again. And look at her. She's crying. She's afraid. Put the knife down.” Every fiber in your body is screaming. 

He pressed the knife into your side. You can fear the burning pain as it pierces through your skin. But you know there isn't anything vital in the way.

“Son, step away with here and we won't have to use unnecessary force.” An officer says from behind. “We know you don't want to hurt her.” 

Your ex steps away, taking the knife with him. Mark quickly goes to your side and makes sure you're okay. He hands Jack your lunch. “Honey…” His voice is soft and filled with worry. With his thumbs, he wipes away the tears.

“I'm fine.” You say softly. “He just hurt me a little.” He glances down to your side and groans. “It's nothing to bad.”

Mark waves an officer over and let's them know you're hurt. He calls over for the people in charge of first aid to the food court. 

“She'll be fine. It doesn't seem to deep. And I don't want to pry, but maybe get a restraining order?”


	19. Bed Rest

After today's incident, Mark made sure you were in bed. Once he excused himself, he took you back to the hotel room. Even though the wound wasn't that big and you weren't in any danger, Mark wanted to make sure you were fine. And that you got some rest.

Opening the hotel room door, you walked in with him following. He set down your stuff and headed to grab some pyjamas for you to put on. Honestly, you didn't want him worrying about you but even if you said something, he would just worry ten times more.

“You can head back; you know?” You asked, taking the pyjamas from him. “I can take care of myself, I'm a big girl.”

“But I just- “you cut his sentence short by kissing him lightly.

“No buts, I really can handle myself. And you know it. So get back out there and enjoy your time, okay? I'll be here and my phone will be on, so you can call me whenever.”

Mark was silent for a few seconds before finally giving in. “Okay, but if you need anything, don't be afraid to call me.”

You kissed him again before finally ushering him out of the hotel room. Giving a small sigh, you head to the bathroom to change.

That shower felt amazing. It gave you all kinds of new energy that you really needed. Everything else was going to have to wait. You didn't want to cause any more pain than you were in.  There was no way you were going to deal with that alone.

Rolling onto your uninjured side, you start scrolling through your phone. Mark sent you a few messages already. You could tell he was going to be worried for the rest of the night. Chuckling softly, you send him a small reply, telling him to just enjoy the rest of the day and to not worry so fucking much. He replies instantly with a small sorry, which you can’t help but laugh at.

 

 

Somewhere between scrolling through your Twitter and Instagram feed, you fell asleep. And you weren’t woken up until your phone started vibrating like crazy. Groaning, you rub your eyes and glance at the clock. It’s a little after five. Meaning that this unintentional nap turned into a three-hour slumber. Great.

Without sitting up, you answer the call and put it on speaker. “Hello?” You didn’t have to look at the name on the screen to know it was Mark calling you. And you also know he can hear the sleep in your voice.

“I woke you up didn’t?” His voice is soft, almost likes he’s backstage somewhere.

“You did, but I didn’t plan on taking a nap, I just did. What’s matter? Why is it so noisy in the background?”

He chuckles softly. “Getting ready for this panel. People are packing into the room. I really wish you could be here with us.”

You groan, rolling onto your back. “I know, hun, but I’m injured. And I don’t want to do anything stupid for the time being.” You clear your throat. “So you really don’t have to worry about me. You can do that when you get back to the hotel room.”

He’s silent for a little bit. You can hear someone talking in the background. It’s probably someone telling him directions and how much time they have for this panel. “I gotta go. I’ll see you after the panel. I love you.”

“Love you too.” You hang up and set the phone by the lap. Maybe that nap wasn’t a bad idea. You could totally go for another one right now. And that’s exactly what you do.

 

 

The next time you woke up was when you heard a sharp knock at the door. Groggily, you sat up and headed over to the door. “Who is it?”

“Me.” Mark’s voice answers. “You have the room keys and you kicked me out so fast that I couldn’t get them from you.”

You chuckle softly. “I should leave you outside the room.”

“Please don’t do that. I’m tired and I want to make sure that you’re fine and that I’m not talking to your ghost.”

You unlock the door and open it just enough for you to look out. Mark looks dead tired, like he just wants to take a shower and go to sleep. “What’s the magic word?”

“--, please don’t do this to me. People are looking at me weird.” He runs his hands through his shaggy hair. He really needs a haircut. “Can you let me in?”

“I’ll let you in, but only because people are staring.” You push the door open and he enters. “Did you have a good day today?” You ask out of habit, closing the door.

“It would have been better if you were there with me, to be honest.” He kicks his shoes off and sets his bag on the small desk near the door. “A lot of people were asking for my side of the story of what happened today. But since I wasn’t there the whole time, I couldn’t tell them everything. You know, just the basics.”

“And what are the basics?” You ask, handing him a cold water from the mini fridge. You were hoping that nothing was said about your personal relationship. If he said you two where childhood friends, that would be fine, but anything about the two of your dating would cause utter chaos.

“Just that you were a childhood friend who I hired to take pictures and that you were being harassed, which you totally were, and I wasn’t going to just sit there and watch it happen.” He opens the bottle of water. “Some of them were insisting on me telling the truth, but these lips were sealed. Even Jack vouched for me.”

You laugh softly. “I’m glad that Jack has your back.” You rub his back lightly. “How about you go take a bath?”

“Only if you join me.” He mutters, setting the bottle down.

“I don’t mind taking a bath with you, just as long as it isn’t something sexual, because your girlfriend in injured.”

He gives you a small pout before silently agreeing.

 

 

The bath water is warm and that makes you extremely grateful since your body is still sore from today’s events. Carefully, you lean against Mark’s chest and let out a sigh. Mark rests his chin on the top of your head. This is all you could ever want. A great boyfriend and a nice warm bath. You love it.

“This is great, Mark. I mean, aside from the little incident that happened in the food court. What we have, I love it. I love you.” He laughs and you feel it in his chest. It tickles.

“You’re cute when you say stuff like that.” He kisses your cheek quickly.


	20. Trip to Mexico

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this one is late. I wasn't feeling myself yesterday but better late than never!

PAX flew by in an instant. Even though most of the time was spent in bed (because Mark made you), it was still enjoyable. Especially when you got home.

“I'm coming!” You exclaim, jogging to the front door. When you open the door, your mom is standing there with the widest grin on her face. “Mom, what brings you here?”

“Aren't you going to invite her in?” Mark asks through a mouthful of cereal. “Don't just leave her standing there. That's rude!” You roll your eyes and let your mom enter your apartment.

“Well, I got off the phone with your grandmother, she's fine by the way, and she told me that your cousin just had her baby.”

“Which one? Because you know I have too many to even count.”

“The oldest one, the one who got married like two years ago.” You stand in silence, trying to think of the name or even a face. Finally your mom groans. “Richard. It's Richard. His wife just gave birth.”

“That's great. But what does this have to do with us?”

“It's been a while since we visited them, so I thought maybe we could go visit them. All three of us.”

“Wait a second, you're asking Mark and I to go to Mexico with you? Why though? We just got back from a trip ourselves.”

“Because your grandparents what to meet your lovely boyfriend. And I told them I'd force you to go.”

“Mom, this is outrageous. They're not even my grandparents.”

“What do you mean they're not your grandparents?” Mark asks, setting his bowl down.

“My mom is adopted. I don't think I told you that part yet. But she was adopted by a nice family in Mexico when she was little. And no, don't worry about it because she's legal.”

“They're still your grandparents. You don't have to be so mean.”

“I was just saying-“

“I want to go. I've never been to Mexico.” Mark quickly says. “I think it'll be a great adventure.”

You groan before nodding. “Fine mom, you win. We'll go to Mexico.”

She squeals in excitement. “Great, we leave next week! I'll come by to pick you two up.”

You look over at Mark, hoping he has something to say. Any objections over the sudden trip out of the country. He doesn’t, he just smiled before saying, “that sounds great. I’ll have to plan everything ahead. Oh, do you know if we’re going to go sightseeing?”

You shake your head. “Of course we’re going to do some sightseeing, I’m that kind of fun. I’m not going to sit around on my ass when there’s pyramids we can be climbing.” The sparkling look in Mark’s eyes causes you to smile. It’s just so cute to see him so happy about a trip.

Your mom was true to her word. She was at your doorstep around seven in the morning. Mark just groaned and rolled over. You honestly did not want to get up and answer the door. But when she noticed that that was your plan, she started spamming your phone. That’s when you had enough and got up to let her in.

A good thing that came with her coming earlier than expected was that she had brought food with her. Thank god about that, you and Mark were probably going to get some junk food at the airport. And what surprised you even more was that she brought a traditional dish with her.

“Damn mom.” You say, rubbing your eyes, “you’re here early and you brought food with you.” You uncover the glass tray and grin. Your favorite. “This is why you’re my favorite.” You kiss her cheek. “Go ahead and make yourself at home. I have to wake Mark up or he’ll sleep through breakfast.”

Padding into the room, you flick on the light. Mark groans in protest and pulls the covers over his head.  “Mark, honey, get up or you’re going to miss breakfast. My mom made a great dish.” You say, heading to his side of the bed. “And she’s going to feel bad if you at least don’t eat something. You can sleep on the plan. We have a layover.”

Mark looks up at you from the covers. He looks like a grown child under there. “If you give me a kiss, then maybe I’ll get up and join breakfast.”

“How about I give you two kisses and you can use me as a pillow on the plane.” He immediately pushes the covers away and claims one of the two kisses.

“I’ll claim the other kiss when we make it to our destination.” You roll your eyes and head back to the kitchen to find that your mom had already set the table.

“Okay, he’ll be out soon. Is there anything you need me to get? Cheese? Sour cream?” Your mom nods and you take it as a yes to the fact that she needs everything. You gather everything you think you’ll need for breakfast before asking what she wants to drink. Her answer is the same as always. Sometimes you forget why you stopped asking. She always drinks coffee in the morning and she takes it black. You never really liked coffee, so you settle for some juice.

 

“Are you sure that’s what you want to do?” You ask, fixing the hat Mark decided to wear for the entire trip. “Not that I’m saying it’s wrong or anything, but are you sure?” He had a plan of going in disguise, which was honestly just the hat.

“I just want to enjoy this trip.” He says, pushing up his glasses. “And I want to give you some peace of mind.” His smile is soft and sincere. “We are going to enjoy this trip whether you like the idea or not.” You laugh softly before kissing his cheek.

“Then just act like you don’t know what you’re doing, which should come natural to you. And it you find someone staring at you, then just look away, look at me.” He nods. “Now go get in the car.” You say, smacking his butt. “I have to get a few more things.” He rolls his eyes but heads out towards the car.

Your mom laughs. “Honestly, I’ve never seen a couple more in love than you two. Any idea when you two are going to tie the knot?” She asked, handing you a pack of gum and some loose bills.

“Mom, honestly, we’re in no rush right now. We’ll get married when we decide it’s the right time.” You slip the two things into your bag and glance at her. “And don’t go talking about how you want grandchildren, those will happen when the time is right as well.”

“I know, but I feel that there’s no better time now than the present. You two are doing great.” You shake your head. “Okay, but, just think about it.”

“Mom, that’s his decision, not mine.” You zip your bag up. “And he’ll know what my answer is anyway. I just feel that we’re in a comfortable place right now. Getting married won’t make a difference. Now, if you don’t mind, we have a flight to catch in a few hours and we’re not at the airport yet.”

 

The airport was never your favorite place to be. All the people just made you anxious and stressed you out. And your mom failed at calming you down, especially today, even though all of you arrived with four hours before your flight. Mark however, managed to keep you calm a little bit.

“Hey..” He says softly as he rubs your back. The three of you are in line to pass through security to head to your gate. “It’s going to be okay.” His voice is soothing and has some calming power. “We’re going to make it to out gate and everything is going to be just fine. Your mom is here, I’m here.” He presses a kiss into your hair.

Of course you knew that you would make it to your gate on time. It was the fact that you had never had a layover before that was stressing you out? What if you missed your connecting flight and you were stranded in the middle of Huston?

Mark presses another kiss to your hair. “Sleep while we wait for our plane to arrive okay? I’ll watch over you and make sure nothing happens.” You give him a small smile. It was the small things like this that made it easier to fall in love with him.

“But you need to sleep as well.”

“I can sleep on the plane, so don’t worry about me. Worry about calming down for now.”

 

To be honest, the anxiety continued. Why? Because your first flight arrived late and you didn’t start boarding until thirty minutes after the original boarding time. Hurray! It meant that you were going to barely make it to your connecting flight. Mark could tell you were worried because you kept glancing at you watching.

Not to mention that it was a fucking miracle that you managed to get seats together. The airline had an open seat police which sucked ass. Part you was honestly worried that you wouldn’t get a seat next to Mark, but you did and you were grateful for that. Mark sat by the window, you in the middle and your mom on the aisle seat.

Mark didn’t sleep, instead he made small talk with you. And it worked wonders with your nerves. It calmed you down a lot more. He knew exactly what to do. But that didn’t last long. Like almost everything else in your life, it came crashing down. The Captain said that there was no room in the runway and that you would have to wait until there was room. Which was just fucking great. Ten minutes before your other flight had to leave. Here came the anxiety crashing through the door again.

You took off when you were allowed to get off the plane. Mark and your mom followed behind you at their own pace. And honestly, you didn’t even have to run but you did it anyway. That flight wasn’t going anywhere for another hour or so. Some people’s documentation didn’t check through so they had to get their luggage off the plane. And you were kind of glad anyway, gave you some time to catch your breath.

“I didn’t know you could run like that.” Mark says when he sits down next to you. “Just another thing I learned about you.” He kisses your cheek and you just glare at him. “Look, we’re halfway there. It’s just smooth sailing up to this point. Which is great. And this flight isn’t that long. And we have Wi-Fi.” You smack his arm which causes the woman next to you to laugh. Your mom was seated behind you two. 

“Stop hurting him, ___” Your mom warns from behind you, “If anything you should be hurting me because I booked this shitty flight. Which it is by the way. Next time we’re going the expensive flight where you don’t have to pay for the Wi-Fi.”

“What?!” Mark sounds hurt at that last bit. “What do you mean you have to pay for Wi-Fi? What kind of bullshit is that?” He turns a bit in his seat to look at your mom.

“Eight dollars does seem a little excessive, if you ask me.” You say, glancing at him.

He whines, slumping over into your shoulder which causes you to grunt at the force. “How am I going to live? I’m going to make it there, but I’ll be the shell of a man you once knew me as.” The woman next to you laughs again.

“You two are just two cute.” She says, smiling a bit. Your mom is the next one to speak up.

“Thank you. I birthed them, well just her. He’s my son-in-law.” She says proudly.

“Mom.” You say sternly. “We talked about this before we left Los Angeles. He’s my boyfriend. Not my husband.”

“He might as well be.”

“Oh my god! Mom just stop it and got to sleep!”

Mark laughs, peeking up at you.

 

This last flight is a lot less bumpy and it’s better in general. You’re a lot less stressed and Mark is glad about that that he actually sleeps a little bit. You watch him the entire time, a small smile on your face. When it came to fill out the papers that you needed to go through customs, you handed them off to your mom. She had all the paperwork and passports with her (since you didn’t trust yourself enough to carry them.) Adulting was a hard thing to do.

One thing you loved about going through Customs in Mexico was that they didn’t ask the big question that other airports did. They normally just asked how long were you going to be staying and what was the reason for your trip. You did the talking since your mom had filled the papers out. And it was just great to see Mark’s eyes light up when he heard you speak Spanish. It was cute.

“What belt is our luggage going to be on?” Mark asks, glancing at your mom.

“Uh, fifteen and sixteen.” He nods and hurries on ahead.

 

Once the bags were found and reunited with their owner, the three of you headed to the smallest and easiest. The lady asked you mom to press the green button and it gave you a green figure, which indicated that you were good to pass through. Mark looked at you in amazement.

“That was easy…” He mutters as he hurries to catch up with you. “Why is it so easy? Shouldn’t there be a law against that?”

“That is the law. You’re forgetting that Mexico hasn’t had anything happen to them like America. Other than America taking their land back in the eighteen hundreds. So of course it’s going to seem really lack compared to ours.” You say as you follow your mom. “Do you see them?” Your mom shakes your head. “Ah, wait, there they are.”

“You mean the suspicious looking man coming our way?” Mark asks.

“That man is my godfather, thank you very much.” You say, greeting him and then giving him a quick kiss on the cheek. “And that’s my uncle. And my grandparents.” Your grandparents are in tears, just happy to see you after a long time. Plus, they’re crying out of happiness that you made it safely. “But let’s go home. It’s late and we’re all tired.” You say, taking Mark’s hand. “Also, don’t be surprised when you hear noise downstairs, my Nana loves waking up at like six in the morning to clean… every day.”

“Wow, okay, that might need some time to get used to. What else do you have to warn me about?”

“Ah, there are no hot showers on demand. You have to turn on the boiler yourself. And even then, it’s not going to be the hottest. Also, the water pressure isn’t the best either. So twenty minute showers might turn to fifty minute ones. But the good thing is that it’s been raining a lot, so you don’t have to worry about the heat. You did bring a sweater right?”

“I live in Los Angeles; I don’t know what cold is.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll buy you one when we go to the store tomorrow.” You say, following your uncle and godfather out of the airport. “Also, you’re never going to want to drive here. The traffic is horrible.”

“Worse than California traffic?”

“This takes the cake.”

“Holy shit, you aren’t kidding.”


	21. It's Cold

You wake up to your grandmother mopping downstairs. You can hear it. And the image of it causes you to laugh a bit. Mark is still fast asleep next to you. Carefully, you reach for your phone to check the time. It's seven in the morning. Which is fairly early considering that you're currently two hours ahead. Maybe you should sleep a bit more? Or maybe you can enjoy the décor of the room.

You remember this room. There's a lot of things that weren't here last time. Like the bedside drawers and the dresser. Hell, this room never existed according to your mom. It's fairly new. Though you could tell it was never here, seeing the outline of what used to belong to a window behind the dresser. A small smile forms on your face.

“What are you grinning about?” Mark asks, rolling onto his side to look at you. You can tell that he's still tired and just wants to sleep even more.

“Just thinking about old memories. How long have you been awake? Or did I wake you up?” You ask, pushing a few strands of hair from his eyes.

“I'm not used to so much noise. Our apartment is fairly quiet at this time since we're in the middle of the neighborhood.”

You shake your head. “You'll get used to it. Just like with the bright pink paint of the room. You'll get used to a lot. But you'll miss it. Mom always cries when we have to leave. So do I, but mostly because I start crying when others are crying.”

Mark laughs. “Are we going to do anything?” He sits up and runs his hands through his hair.

“Ah, actually, we have to go to the store. Get a few things like shampoo and soap. And a sweater. Because this isn't the worse. It'll get colder when it rains and it's going to rain a lot.”

He kisses your shoulder. “Sounds like a plan. Where is this store?”

“About ten or fifteen minutes away by foot. If you don't get sidetracked by my aunt’s shop which is nearby.”

“I'm just going to follow you like a puppy, I hope you don't mind that.”

“I don't. But we won't be doing anything big for the next few days. We need to catch up on our sleep. And by we, I meant you. Now get up and get dressed because it's time to eat breakfast. Well, time to help Nana with breakfast.” Mark shakes his head and pulls the covers close. “Are you disobeying me?” You ask in a teasing tone.

“It's cold.”

“I'll let you borrow a sweater. You're lucky I like wearing two sizes bigger.” You playfully smack his arm. “But seriously, get up and get dressed. Or go brush your teeth. The toothbrushes and toothpaste should be in my bag.”

He kisses you before getting up and gathering his clothes and hygiene products. You give a happy sigh before getting up to make the bed.

 

When you and Mark head downstairs, your grandmother is out back and your grandfather is sitting on the couch reading the newspaper. You slip your phone in your pocket and greet him. Mark just smiles and stays behind you. One good thing was that one of your cousins who is your age speaks English as well, it'll probably relieve Mark a little bit.

“Do you want to head to the back? It's beautiful. You won't regret it.” Mark nods, following as you head to the small backyard which is engulfed by greenery and chirping birds. Not to mention the Lab who is all too happy to see new people. “She's new.” You mutter, heading over to give her a few affectionate pats. Your grandmother comes down the stairs that connect to the roof (she was probably hanging clothes to air dry).

She explains that the eager Lab is only six months old. That's when you reply saying that the two of you have a dog of your own but she's a total sweetheart and the opposite of this little pup named Kim. She then follows that with asking if you still liked a dish your mom hardly made. Knowing her, she was going to make it as soon as possible if she didn't forget.

The thing about your grandmother is that she loves having something to do. And as much as you love washing dishes, you always let her wash the dishes when you come visit. She has a lot of energy for someone her age.

“Morning.” Your mom says from behind you, rubbing sleep from her eyes. “Why are you two up so early? It's not even eight yet.”

“More importantly, why are you up?” You ask, glancing back at her. “We didn't wake you did I?”

“Actually, it was the dog. She's barking a lot. And just moving everywhere.”

“But Kim hasn’t barked at all.” Mark states.

“No, Hun, not her. There's another dog that lives on the roof. Mom is referring to her.”

“That's what that was? I thought it was some kind of demon trying to get me.”

You shrug. “Actually, it could be a demon. No one has ever seen the dog."

“She's lying, I hope you know.” Your mom says, reassuring Mark. “There's a dog up there and you can see her from the other room when she's barking at nothing.”

“I'm relieved. I don't want the demons coming to get me in the middle of the night. I'm not ready yet.” Mark says with a serious expression.

“Anyway, Mom, what time does the store open? I'm sure we could use some time to walk because that flight lasted longer than ever.”

“Ten. It's still early and it is a Sunday. Do the shops around here aren't open yet. So you two can just relax or unpack. Or go for a walk?”

“I think unpacking would be good. I know we need the Wi-Fi password. It's still on the box right?”

“It should be. But I think it still likes going out like last time. Your godfather is too lazy to change the router box.”

You laugh as you make your way back inside the house. “We can unpack and then go to the store.” You say, glancing up at Mark. “How's that sound?”

“Sounds great, actually. Wait, do you have money to go to the store with?”

“I can use my card. It'll automatically convert the amount. And the Peso is pretty fucking high right now. Almost nineteen dollars.”

“Nineteen dollars per dollar? Holy crap, that's amazing. We need to come back a lot more.”

“How about you decide that after we're back in California? Plus, we can always visit other places. Like the crystal blue oceans in Cancun.”

“Bluer than the ones in California?”

“Oh yeah. It's beautiful. The white sand beaches. It's great. We can go there next time. Though, everything is much more expensive there since it is a tourist spot and home to one of the Seven Wonders of the World.”

“You had me at beautiful. But how far is it from here?”

“Uh, if I remember correctly it's about… eighteen hours or so. It would be better just to fly but it'll be expensive.”

“How about next time then? Just the two of us.”

“Mister Iplier, are you asking little old me on a date?”

“Yes, I'm asking you on a date.”

 

Breakfast was simple since there wasn't much to eat. That would be fixed after going to the store in a little bit. You were glad there was at least bread and eggs to have that. But as soon as breakfast was done and plates were collected, you and Mark excuses yourselves to head out to the store. Your mom made a little list of what you needed to get. She even provided her card and house, just in case.

You laugh a little bit as you close the giant metal door behind you. “Nana just asked if you're cold. She was about to grab one of Tito’s jackets for you. But rest assured, I let her know I was going to buy you one.” You say as you slip your hand into Mark’s. His hand is warm despite him complaining about the cold.

“That was sweet of her. Does she do this with everyone? Or just us?”

“No, it's with everyone. Last time, my aunt, you'll meet her at lunch, she let me borrow one of her jackets. We're roughly the same size anyway. The whole family is great.”

“I can tell. It's amazing that all of you are so… Bound together. It's great.”

You laugh again. “Well, they're your family too. I'm sure Mom is gushing about you right now.”

“Great way to make it official before actually making it official.”

You playfully push him. “Shut up will you? We don't have to rush anything right now. I like the way we are. But I won't say no either.”

“I know. I like where we are too. Marriage will happen when we think it's correct. Right now we're just going to enjoy our vacation and be cute.”

“You mean I'm going to be cute. Because face it, I'm the cute one.” You say, jumping over a pothole.

“You are cute. But I'm pretty cute as well.” He follows your lead over the pothole. “Is this the store?”

“Hm? Oh yeah, it's like a Walmart, well, it's owned by Walmart. Things are a little cheaper here. Except the electronics and you'll notice that when we pass by them.”

Mark grabs a buggie. “So where do we start first?”

“Groceries of course then we'll look through the rest of the store.”

 

"Why is everything so expensive?" Mark asks as he grabs a few apples and places them in a bag.

“They're not expensive. It's just that you're so used to seeing everything in Dollars. Look, these limes are forty-five pesos a kilo. So, I get roughly a kilo which means they'll be around that price. As since the dollar is selling at eighteen forty-five, you just do the math. That's around two dollars the kilo.” You say, glancing at him. “You just have to get used to it, so don't worry about it.”

“Wow, I've never been more attracted to you until now.” He says, placing the bag of apples in the buggie. “And your brain is hard wired for this?”

“No. But I remember things. Next week we'll go to the mall and I'll show you. But no electronics, because that will put you in debt.”

“Hey, isn't that your godfather?”

You look up and see your godfather heading your way. He smiles at you. “Mark, grab some yogurt okay?” You ask, stepping to the side to speak with your godfather.

When Mark comes back, your godfather is gone. “He left that quickly?”

“Yeah, he asked if we wanted to go to the pyramids, but since we just got here and we're behind on sleep, I said that Sunday would be the best day to go.”

“Whoa, looks like we're gonna have all types of fun then.”

You laugh before pushing the cart through the rest of the store. You grabbed several things you would need like shampoo and soap. As well as bottled water and snacks. You almost forgot about the sweater for Mark until you saw him head that way.

“These sweaters are expensive.” He says as he grabs one off the rack. “How much would it actually be?”

You glance at the price. “Uh, about five dollars. So no big deal.” You take the sweater from him and toss it into the cart. “Mama will pay for everything.” You give him a playful wink.


	22. Keeping a Secret From the Family

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So classes started again yesterday! And I can tell this is going to be a busy semester judging from the work I have due on the first week. So enjoy this chapter before I disappear under a pile of schoolwork yet again! But I will try to upload when I have free time. <3

You sat up quickly and looked around. Nothing was wrong, but you had forgotten about something. Mark was just entering the room, his hair dripping wet from the shower he had just taken. He slipped his glasses on and eyed you. He knew something was wrong.

“What's the matter? Are you feeling sick?” He asks, reaching forward to touch your forehead. “You're not warm. What's bothering you?”

“Uh, Mark, today is the fifteenth right?” You ask. If your calculations were correct, your period was late by a week. You had totally forgotten it.

“Sixteenth, actually. Why? Did something happen? Did you forget to reschedule a shoot?” You look up at him, fear in your eyes. That's when he realizes why you're asking. “Oh- you think? Do you want to go buy a test?”

Good thing your mom isn't home. She went with your grandparents to a doctor’s appointment. The house is empty. “That would be the best. I would say lets go to the clinic next to my Aunt’s shop, but she's know something was up. Let's just go to the store.”

You slide off the bed and slip your sandals on. Your heart is beating a mile a minute. You're scared. What does this mean for the two of you? Mark holds out your jacket and helps you put it on before he himself puts his own jacket on.

“Everything is fine. Don't worry. It might be stress.” He says, grabbing your bag and house keys off the little table. “And if not, we're going to raise that baby.”

You want to cry. Having a baby was not something you wanted to do right now. As much as you loved him, a baby would only bother him and he'd get tired of you.

He slips his hand into yours and leads you downstairs. You can tell he's just as nervous as you are. But what are you going to tell your family? They're all traditional and would want you to get married right away.

“If the test comes up positive, we'll schedule a doctor’s appointment for when we get back. Just to be sure.” You say weakly. Your throat feels tight and you want to throw up. It's nerve wracking.

“And if there is a little human, we're going to love him or her. I know it wasn't planned, but these things happen for a reason.” He says softly, leading you outside and towards the store. He knows his way by now.

“You won't leave me?” Your fears are the one thing you don't want to come true. You don't want him to force himself. You don't want him to give up his life as a Youtuber just to raise a child with you. You don't want him to be miserable. You don't want to be alone again.

Tears sting your eyes as you follow him. It's all stupid. Your abandonment fears are at its highest.

“No! Of course not!” He sounds hurt that you would even ask that. “I love you. I really do. And I'm going to be here for you and our baby. No matter what?”

You wipe a few tears that escape and give a small laugh. “I'm an idiot. I know.”

“You're not an idiot. It took two people to do the deed. And it's going to be two people who will raise that baby.”

“I think it was during PAX.” You say softly. “Or maybe after PAX. I don't remember exactly. I think we got carried away and we probably forgot to use protection.”

“Or it could have failed. Anything could have happened.” He brings your hand to his lips and places a small chaste kiss on the back of your hand. “But that baby will be loved.”

 

You were embarrassed to even approach the pharmacy counter to ask where their tests were. She approached you and went to fetch a few for you. To be honest, this was all new. So you bought a few different tests. She wrapped them up and a dark bag and handed them to you after you paid. Mark grabbed onto your hand and lead you back out onto the busy street.

The walk back to your grandmother’s house was short and quiet. Neither of you wanted to say anything. You were glad to find the house still empty when you opened the door.

You glance at Mark before hurrying to the upstairs bathroom. He follows shortly afterwards but heads to the room the two of you are occupying.

You tear open the boxes and uncap them all. A quick glance at the instructions is all you need. Two of the tests are digital and you have a little more faith in them than the one that shows the lines. They need to get rid of those for sure. Calming yourself takes a little longer than expected but you eventually do it and get down to business.

The next five minutes are pure agony. They drag on like an eternity and you don't want to wait any longer. You just want to know whether you're pregnant or not. You can hear Mark coming up and down the stairs. He's a nervous mess from what you can tell.

Finally the timer on your watch goes off and you gather your thoughts before checking the two digital ones. You mouth is dry and you feel like you might throw up. Why? Because right in front of you are two pregnancy tests that read pregnant (in Spanish of course).

A sharp knock at the door shakes you from your shock induced trance. “Are the results in?” Mark’s voice asks.

You wrap the two tests with toilet paper before unlocking the door. “Here.” You say softly, forgetting that he can't read Spanish, you hand the tests over before heading towards the room. You can see Mark from where you're seated in the room. He's balancing his phone on the stair railing and looking back and forth. He probably looked up the translation for the word. Because for a second, shock crosses his face as he glances back at his phone. He's found it.

“You're-“ his voice is quiet. A part of you is still thinking that he's just going to dash out of the door. But he assures you that isn't the case when he comes into the room. “You're pregnant.” There are tears running down his cheeks. You don't know if they're from joy or some other emotion.

“We're going to have a baby.” You say softly, glancing up at him, a blank expression on your face.

“Oh my god, I'm going to be a dad!” He exclaims, taking your hands. You've known him forever and you still aren't used to the fact that he's predictable. Of course he'd be happy. The blank expression is gone when he kneels down in front of you and places a kiss on your forehead. “We're going to be parents.” He's grinning so hard right now. You've never met anyone who grinned at the news his girlfriend was pregnant.

“But we can't tell my family yet. These flimsy little fucks can be wrong.” You say, giving him a small smile. His happiness is just oozing out. “We'll make an appointment. Call our Doctor while I dispose of the evidence.” By that you meant collecting everything and keeping it hid fine in you luggage since you had a lock on it.

This is it. A new chapter in your life. Starting a family with your best friend. Wow. Who would've thought of that? Definitely not you in a thousand years. But here you are, both twenty-six years old and having a baby.

“We have an appointment three days after we land in Los Angeles.” He says. That grin of his is going to kill you. “And I'll keep everything quiet from everyone.”

Good. That's what you wanted to hear. None of his fans knew the two of you were dating. And they didn't need to know now. You'd seen the hate the girls he dated got and you honestly didn't want to go through with that. Especially not now that you might be pregnant.

The giant metal door downstairs creaked open and you heard your mom’s voice. They were back from their appointment. You look at Mark and wipe away the small tears in the corner of his eyes. You point to the television, a signal for him to turn it on. At least to make it seem like you were doing something other than finding out you might be pregnant.

“Hey you two. Have you been up here the entire time?” Your mom asks as she reaches the top of the stairs. “You could be watching Netflix on the big television downstairs.”

“We thought we'd stay up here for the rest of the day. I'm pretty tired. And Mark wanted to keep me company.” You snuggle into him for emphasis. “It is the day after we arrived after all.”

Your mom raised an eyebrow but doesn't question it. She just nods. “Okay, we'll I'll let you know if there's someone here to see you.” With that she slips into her room.

Mark kisses the top of your head before leaning over to close the door (an advantage of having a small room).

“So what about the fans?” You ask softly, tracing lazy shapes into his arm. “I mean, they know who I am but they don't know about us.”

“It's going to stay that way for a while. Maybe I'll drop subtle hints. Or you could do it. Since you're good at that. It's not going to be all at once. Even though some fans already have an inkling on the subject.”

You roll your eyes before moving away to grab your phone. “How about we start the games today?” You open your camera app and snap a side view picture of Mark before heading to Instagram.

“What are you going to put as the caption?” He asks, leaning over to try to sneak a peek.

“Ah, you'll see it when I post it and tag you in it.” You say, typing away at your phone. The caption reads, ‘Hanging out with this doof butt.’ You tag him before posting the picture.

“Really? I'm a doof butt alright. But I'm your doof butt.” He double taps the picture before leaning over to kiss you.

“Well, what can I say? I'm a sucker for doof butts.” You grin happily. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” He kisses you again. And those four little words put you at ease. You really don't know you were so worried. But you knew he meant it when he said it.


	23. Pyramids

“How long did you say the drive to the pyramids is?” Mark ask, putting on his hat. He has that typical no sleeve tank of his that you love. You know, the one with Reptar design on it. You love it because you grew up watching the show and just seeing it brings a smile to your face.

“I never said how long the drive was.” You say, pulling your hair into a ponytail. You want to be as comfortable as you can be. Good thing you brought some running shoes with you. “But my godfather said it’s about a forty-five-minute drive.”

“That doesn’t seem too long. Are you sure these pyramids are the real deal?” He asks, grabbing your bag and slipping a few things inside. “I mean; I just want them to be the real deal.” You stop what you’re doing and glare at him.

“You’re in the land of the Mayans and Aztecs. What do you mean you want them to be the real deal? Any pyramid we have here is the real deal. Hell, you can fucking climb these fuckers. Well, two of them at least. The Pyramid of the Sun and Moon. The Sun one is taller than the Moon one, so I might die. But I think you’ll be able to do it no problem.”

“I am a manly man after all.” He starts flexing which causes you to roll your eyes at how stupid and goofy he is. You really love this man and wouldn’t give him up for anything in the world. “Wait, another question, why are we going so early in the morning? We just ate.”

“Because if we go later in the day, we might get rained on and that’s when more people will be coming in. I don’t want to be climbing the pyramid with twenty thousand people trying to climb it too. A thousand is fine, but that’s where I cross the line after all.”

“Someone is being sassy this morning.” He mutters, a hurt look on his face as he slips two bottles of water into your bag.

“I'm always sassy. I'm just being sassiest than usual.” You admit, glancing up at him. “Plus, you can handle the sass.”

“I'll blame it on hormones.” He says, kissing your cheek. “But if they sell hats there, I am going to buy you one. I don't want you getting sunburnt.” He kisses your bare shoulder. “I'll meet you downstairs.”

You nod and slip your watch on and any unnecessary jewelry. You don't want to wear it, especially in a crowded area.

Your mom peeks her head into the room. “You're still not ready?” She asks. “Normally your boyfriend takes forever to get ready. When did the roles change?”

“Just for today. Because I couldn't find the tank I was planning on wearing. So that took a little longer.” Your mom rolls eyes as she brushes your bangs away from your eyes. “Was there something you needed mom?”

“Actually yes. I wanted to ask you something.” She leans against the doorway. “Your aunt said she saw you walk to the store with Mark and she said you looked a little nervous.”

You lick your lips. Shit, you had forgotten about the fact that your aunt’s store was on the way to the store. You fucked up big time.

“I didn't want to say anything until I had some alone time with you. Which has been hard this past week because Mark doesn't seem to want to leave your side.”

“Oh, that. I was- I just had a stomach ache so we went to the store to get something.” You lie. You hated lying to her but you weren't one hundred percent you were even pregnant.

She gave you a look that seemed like she wasn't buying it at all. “Are you feeling better at least?”

“Yeah, the medicine did the trick.” You give her a weak smile. Good thing there's a lock on your luggage and you have the key with you.

“Babe! Are you coming? We're about to leave!” Mark calls from downstairs.

“Ah, I should get going.” You mutter, heading for the stairs. “I'll take care of myself. Don't worry.” You give her another smile before finally heading down.

 

 

The ride to the Pyramids was short and you spent most of it sleeping. All the energy you had prior to leaving the house was completely gone. Hopefully this small nap would help a bit. On top of that, you could hear Mark talk with the one cousin that actually knew English (she decided to tag along as well). It made you happy that he was coming out of his shell a little bit.

“Wake up sleepy head.” Mark’s voice is soft as he takes your bag from your lap, which pulls your earbuds out of your ears. You groan softly and sit up, looking sleepily over at him. “You ready to lose all the weight we’ve gained since getting here?” Your cousin laughs as she gets out of the car.

“No, but I’m ready to punch something.” You mutter. For some reason, you’re a little grumpier than usual. Maybe it was because you wanted to sleep in a little more.

“Hey, be good and I’ll buy you something nice.”

You roll your eyes and slip your phone and earbuds into your bag. “You mean I’ll buy you something? Because I am the only one with money.”

“Actually, your godfather took some of my money and exchanged it for me. So now I’m going to be the one spoiling you.”

“Don’t spend it all in one place. Things are going to be super pricey inside. Well, somethings will be, but other things won’t be as bad.” Your cousin says as she opens the door. “But it’s about enjoying the view and not about the money.”

“Oh, that reminds me. My camera is in there somewhere.” You say as you follow Mark’s lead and get out of the car. “So we can do like some shitty vlogs or just take pictures.”

“Can the shitty vlogs just be for us?” He asks, looking through your bag to get your camera out.

“Yes, but I say that whatever doesn’t show us being too cute and all can go on my Instagram page.” You say with a happy grin. Now you’re happier than a little kid who was given permission to eat an entire cake.

He nods and hands you your camera.

 

 

On the way in, Mark immediately went to buy you hat. You weren’t fast enough to catch up to him and he ended up buying you the biggest sun hat he could find. At least it matched with what you were wearing. So you accepted the sun hat without a complaint.

“So, enlighten me.” He says, looking down at him. You give him a confused look. “You’re a walking encyclopedia, so tell me a little bit about this place. What can you tell?” His expression is sincere and you can tell that he really wants to know about the history if this place. So you give in.

“So, welcome to Teotihuacan,” you say the name slowly so he can understand what you’re saying, “or the Holy City of Teotihuacan, also known as ‘The Place Where the Gods Were Created’, which is about fifty some kilometers from the City. Built between the first and seventh century, A.D, which is well known for the Temple of Quetzalcoatl and the Pyramids of the Sun and the Moon.

“This whole path, the one we’re currently walking on is called the Avenue of the Dead. The Pyramid of the Sun is that one.” You point to the bigger Pyramid as you continue talking. “And the one all the way at the end is the Pyramid of the Moon. The origin of the founders is unknown to this day. But let me tell you about the Pyramid of the Sun.

“It was most likely used as a religious and sacrificial center. This great pyramid was built around one hundred AD, over a cave shaped like a four-leaf clover. The cave itself was sacred to Mesoamerican cultures and archeologists believe that this cave was considered the womb of the universe or where Gods created the world.

“Two hundred and forty-eight steps, all of uneven sizes lead you from one patio, or platform to another. Since all the steps are uneven, it makes the climb a challenging exercise. But once you’re at the top, you get a view of the lifetime. And you can even see the Pyramid of the Moon from the top. Hell, you can see everything. Great opportunity for a video like that. Which I will be doing of course.”

Mark looks at you with wide eyes. “Holy cow, you really are a walking encyclopedia. Geez, where do you learn all this stuff? And when do you ever have time to learn it?”

“I have a lot of time, thank you very much. But I find all of this interesting. I mean, there are some things I won’t be able to tell you, but I’ll tell you what I know.”

“Are you going to tell me about the Pyramid of the Moon?”

“That is going to wait until we’re closer to it. Because I am not going to use all my brain power on telling you their significance. At least not yet. We have two hundred and forty- eight steps to climb. I have to conserve my strength and at least try to make it to the top.”

“Hey,” Your cousin speaks up, “do you two want a Quartz? That way you can take it up there with you as you climb the pyramid and charge it up with good energy.” She gives the two of you a happy smile.

“Oh yeah, they all have meaning behind them, but choose the one that catches your eyes.” You add, returning her smile. “But they’re pretty cheap aren’t they?”

“Cheapest you’ll find them anywhere. About ten pesos if I remember correctly. Which isn’t too much in dollars, right?”

“About fifty cents, give or take a few.” You say, glancing up at Mark. “What do you think? Do you want to get one?” You approach the small vender and kneel down carefully. Mark’s hand is on the small of your back, almost as if to help you. Instantly, your eyes are drawn to a bluish purple one in the shape of a heart. It’s too cute. You let the vender know that that’s the one you like. Mark looks over all of them before choosing the one with the brightest shade of red. He probably wants it to match his hair. Your godfather and cousin also choose theirs.

You wrap yours around your wrist. You don’t want to wear it right now. “Okay, now that we have our little energy gathering Quartz, let’s just follow the crowd of people that are going to the Pyramid of the Sun.”

“And try to stay together of course.” Your cousin says as she quickly falls into step with the rest of the group. “Oh and just a little word of advice, there’s a rope that you can use for support, but it’s not the best.”

“Is it that bad?”

“Actually, yes. The rope only goes down the middle of the steps. So if you want to use it, you have to fall in line with the rest of the people here.”

Mark looks at you, a look of worry flashes across his eyes. You can read his expression loud and clear. He’s worried about you putting so much effort into climbing the pyramid. You give him a small smile of reassurance. If you ever start feeling lightheaded or dizzy, you’ll stop and take a breather. Plus, you have a strong manly boyfriend who can help you up the uneven steps.

 

 

Shortly after reaching the second platform of the pyramid, you regretted even trying to climb it. Your legs are shaking and you feel like you’re going to fall over from how steep it is. Mark never lets go of your hand so that kind of helps. You really want to stop and just wait for them on the second platform, but you did say you were going to climb it. When was the next time you were going to be back? Might as well take the opportunity.

Mark lets out a small sigh and takes out a bottle of water from your bag. “You weren’t kidding. We’re only halfway through and I feel like I ran two miles.” He uncaps the bottle and takes a sip. “I hope the other one isn’t this bad.”

You decide not to say anything. Because it’s just as bad as this one just a little smaller. You accept the bottle from Mark when he offers you some water. It’s a good thing that the clouds are starting to roll in. They’re going to block out whatever sun there is. And there isn’t much. But it is getting windy and it looks like it might rain. And you’re hoping it doesn’t because once it starts raining, it won’t stop raining for hours.

“Just a little bit more.” Your cousin says which earns her a glare. It’s almost as if she’s forgotten that you still have to go back down the pyramid, which in your opinion is probably the hardest thing to do. She smiles sheepishly at you.

 

 

The clouds and possible rain are making their move, but the good thing it that it only rains for a brief second before clearing out. You’re more than happy, because you don’t know how your camera would be able to hold up in sudden downpour. And it’s even better because you are finally at the top of the pyramid and the sight is breathtaking.

Mark has his phone out and is taking a few pictures. You take his lead and snap a few before switching to video mood to vlog for your own pleasure. You’re probably going to take an Instagram video after this.

“Any words on how amazing this place is?” You ask, pointing your camera at him. He has the widest grin on his face.

“This is so cool!” He exclaims. “You can see the entire area from here!” He gives a small clap. “I’m glad we came here. And I’m proud that you stuck to the end and climbed this bad boy.”

Your roll your eyes and pull out your phone for the Instagram video. It’s a short scene of the area below before panning over to Mark who is still grinning. You even catch him saying ‘it’s so cool!’ again before ending the short recording.

“See, with me, we’re going to have an empty bucket list by the time we’re thirty-five, which won’t be too bad.” You slip your phone back into your bag. “But here comes the worst part, climbing down this bad boy.”

“Stick close to me, will you?” He asks, making sure you’re close enough as the small group in front of you starts making their way back down. And you do stick to him,

And it’s a good thing too, because it feels even worse going down than going up. You feel like you’re going to slip, but then you remember that Mark is next to you just in case. So that helps you a little bit on the way down.

 

 

“Oh thank God.” You mutter when your feet finally touch even ground. “I thought I was going to die. My legs feel like jelly. God.” You let out a tired laugh as you look up at Mark. “But it was totally worth it.”

“So, what can my walking encyclopedia tell me about the Pyramid of the Moon as we make our way over there?” He asks, grinning happily. Shit, you had forgotten that you were going to give him a history lesson after you climbed the hardest one.

“Ah, right, well this pyramid is the second largest in the area. Second of course to the Pyramid of the Sun. If you look at it from the side, you can tell that it doesn’t have the same shape as any other pyramid. In fact, this one was built like a Russian doll, the smallest structure in the front and the largest all the way in the back.

“Human and animal sacrifices along with other offerings have been discovered which seem to mark the beginning of at least three new stages.  The Pyramid of the Moon and its Plaza, the area around it, were a used primarily as a religious and sacrificial center. The earliest human sacrifice was recorded to be around 200 AD. Tombs in the pyramid contained both animal and human sacrifice as well as objects made from obsidian and greenstone.

“A tomb, which marked the construction of the fourth stage, held a single male, whom was buried alive- wounded with his hands tied behind his back- and jaguar, wolf, and puma skeletons and over relics. All were dedicated to The Great Goddess, the ruler of water, earth, fertility and creation. The tomb marking the fifth stage contained four human skeletons and other ritual offerings.

“Human sacrifice was only used to keep social order and to ensure that the ruling elite, which were the priests and holy men kept their grip on power. Many Mesoamerican cultures sacrificed their enemies that they captured in battel and brought them back to their city so the people there could witness rather than just killing them on the battlefield.

“But, unlike The Pyramid of the Sun, this pyramid is now limited to the five tiered platform which is at the front. The steps are way steeper than the Pyramid of the Sun, so it’s going to be a work out. But once you’re at the top, you get a great view of the Avenue of the Dead; past the Pyramid of the Sun and South to the Citadel.”

Mark is quiet for a few seconds before nodding. “Would it be wise to climb it?” It seems like he’s asking himself this question.

“If you want to climb it, I say go for it. There’s not that many steps on this one but like I said, it is steeper. So the chances of someone tripping is probably higher than on the other one.”

“Are you up to climbing this one though?” He asks, glancing at you. You hum softly before shaking your head.

“I don’t think so. But you can climb it without me. Hell, you can take my camera with you if you want.”

“I’ll climb it with you.” Your cousin speaks up. “I’ve done it before, so I have a little more experience than the two of you combined. I’ll show you the easiest way to go up and come back down. You can even sit on the edge, like those people. Catch your breath before we go down.”

“I’ll keep my camera with me then.” You say, giving the two of them a small smile. “That way I can take pictures of you two dorks.”

You stop by what you can only assume is a new dig site, especially because of the officer that is circling the area, telling others to step away from the stone walls. You take a few steps away for extra measures. Your godfather is standing next to you as you watch your cousin and boyfriend climb the steps. But the only good sight you get is a butt shot of Mark, which you can’t really complain about because he has a nice butt.

When they finally reach the top, you take several pictures. In all of them, Mark is acting like a total goof. And those are going to be the images you’re remember the most. You can’t help but laugh when he sits down on the edge and waves excitedly at you. He seems like a small child and it’s all too cute for you. You can tell he’s taking pictures as well, but you have no idea of what.

Your attention is drawn away when your godfather asks when the three of you are going to leave. You reply saying that you have about a week more left. Which is true, because you arrived on a Saturday and you’re all going to leave at the end of the month which ends on a Saturday as well. You wish you could stay more, but you can’t because Mark has videos to record and other things to attend to. Maybe another time when things aren’t so busy.

You also remember that your Uncle is going to take you to a Palace in a park. He said it has significance to the entire history and that there’s so much that hasn’t been touched. You’re excited about that because you’ve been to this Park but you haven’t gone up to the Palace. Just to the Zoo, which is amazing too. But the Palace has so much more to offer.

By the time you look back to the pyramid, you see that Mark and your cousin are climbing down the steps, slowly, but you know they’ll make it back down in one piece and that’s all you want.

 

 

“Did you have fun?” You ask Mark when he finally makes it back down. He nods, out of breath, as he reaches into your bag for a bottle of water. You can’t help but laugh. “I’m glad you did. But we should be getting back, it’s already three. And three means lunch time.” Mark slips his free hand into yours as you start heading back towards the exit. 

On the way out, there are about a billion other venders, some of them selling the same items as others but at a better price. Good thing your godfather knows how to haggle because that was the only way you were going to let Mark buy you anything. In the end he bought you a silver bracelet with the stars and moon on them as well as a few handmade shirts. He on the other hand doesn’t get much other than a few keychains and a few other knickknacks. Maybe because nothing else caught his attention, unlike you.

But overall, you’re just ready to go and to take a long shower before falling asleep. You’re that tired and you know that you’re going to sleep well. Especially since you’re going to be out again tomorrow and you’re going to be just as tired.


	24. I just want to go home

Everyone knows sure as hell not to bother you. It’s a little past midnight and your mom had the bright idea of booking an early morning flight to head back to Los Angeles. The flight is at five in the goddamn morning and all you want to do is sleep, because you don’t do well on sleep.

One time your Aunt decided to take you to Disney World. Yes, Disney World in Florida when you were fifteen. Of course you didn’t sleep much because you all drove there (but thank god you were in Georgia around the time she wanted to take you). But eight hours is still eight hours. And when you got back home, you slept for about a day and a half.

But today is going to be worse, why? Because there’s a three-hour overlay in Huston. Again. And you’re hoping everything is on time so you can just head so sleep in your comfortable bed for the next day or so. But life had other plans.

The flight leaving Mexico to Huston was on time. Thank god about that. And you honestly tried to sleep the entire flight, but you couldn’t. So instead you watched the pretty lightning in the distance, smiling a little bit every time a cloud lit up. It was honestly breathtaking.

Mark on the other hand, was fast asleep. And so was your mother. So there went any conversation for the morning. And you didn’t have a book with you either. Which kind of pissed you off. Now would have been a perfect time to catch up on some much needed reading.

But at least you landed a little after seven, which meant that you were earlier than expected. It meant more time to wait for your next flight. Which was what nearly caused your breakdown. And it was the first time that Mark had even witnessed it. Poor baby.

First thing first though, your flight gate was changed and no one told you. Instead you followed your gut and checked the monitor. That’s when you noticed that the gate had been changed. Glaring at the screen you point to it. “Fucking piece of shit.” You mutter as you grab your luggage and start heading that way.

“Honey, please calm down.” Mark says as he hurries after you. He doesn’t want you to be stressed out. “Look, our flight hasn’t been cancelled or delayed, so we’re good. We have about two hours before we board that beautiful plane and get back home.”

You weave in and out of a group of people, ignoring what he’s saying. You don’t do well with no sleep. And at this point, you’ve been awake for twelve hours. And you know the rest of the day is going to be horrible and you fucking hate it.

“Honey, come on. Please slow down.” You finally stop and look back at Mark. You can tell that the expression on your face isn’t a pretty one because he winces. “Okay...” He thinks about what he’s going to say next. “Okay, here’s what I’ll do. I’ll go get us something to eat. And I’ll get you some tea. I saw a tea store in here.”

You sit down and let out a groan. You’re beyond tired. “I’m sorry baby. I just really want to get home. You can go ahead and get us something to eat. And tea would be great.” You open your bag and hand him his bank card. “Don’t take anything I say seriously, okay?”

He chuckles and kisses your forehead. “Oh, I know. I’ll be right back.” He takes his bank card before jogging off to find some good food. Anything to make the Fiery Queen happy.

Your mom sits down next to you. “Do you think it was a good idea to send him off by himself? After all, fame does tend to follow him around a lot. Especially because we’re back in the states.”

You groan and mutter. “shit,” before getting up and grabbing your phone and dialing his number. Hopefully he hasn’t gone too far and hopefully no one goes up to him while you’re not around.

Mark picks up after the third ring. “Hey, I was just about to call you. What’s the matter? Is something bothering you?” He’s worried as always.

“No, I just shouldn’t have sent you off by yourself. What’s the closest landmark you’re by or the closest gate?”

“Uh, by the gate we were at. It’s next to the Subway’s. I was going to go to Starbucks but the line was too long.” There’s some muffled speaking, he’s probably placing an order. “Probably a five-minute walk or so. Do you want to meet me here?”

“No duh, I have no right to let you wander off by yourself. I don’t need to have you swarmed by a billion people.” You say as you start heading towards where he is. “It totally slipped my mind.”

“I can handle it though; I don’t want to cause you any problems or any more stress. But an extra pair of hands would definitely help me.”

 

When you arrive to the small Tea shop, Mark is leaning against the counter with two bags and a to go cup holder next to him. He smiles at you when he looks up from his phone. “I ordered green tea. Because I know how serious you are about your green tea. Decaffeinated of course.” His eyes drift to your tummy which causes you to roll your eyes.

“You’re such an idiot.” You give him a quick kiss before taking the cup holder. “But let’s get back before Mom starts freaking out and tries to spam us. Oh, also, there’s a few things I want to check out, like the Best Buy Kiosk, which I have never seen before.”

“I noticed that too, but first, we have to get some food into your tummy. It can’t be good for the baby.” You glance at him and lightly nudge him.

“We don’t know that yet, so hush up.” He grins happily.

 

When you return to the gate, your mom looks up. “Oh, hey, I was just about to call. There was someone looking for you.” She takes the cup holder from you. “I have no idea who they were, but they knew you were with Mark. Probably a fan who put two and two together?”

You groan and take your bag off your seat. “Great. We’re not safe anywhere. Just as long as they aren’t following us, then I’m fine of course.”

Mark sits down next to you. “Just eat, okay? We’ll worry about this if it comes to it. And hopefully it doesn’t.”

“I hope so, since you two haven’t said anything about this have you?”

You shake your head as you grab your cup of tea. Mark answers for you. “As far as anyone knows, she’s my childhood friend who works for me on occasion. That’s really all I’ve said or all that she’s said. And it might stay that way for a while.”

“Why don’t you just come out and say something? Won’t that help lessen the outlash?” Your mom asks, taking one of the cups of tea from the holder.

“Mom, if it was that easy, we would have done it a few months after we started dating. And if we do that, it might be even worse. Keeping it a secret is also not the best thing to do either. But in this case, we can’t win either way.” You let out a soft sigh before bringing the cup of tea to your lips.

“But you’ve been dropping hints, haven’t you? At least you have. I’m sure most fans would support you in anything.”

Mark glances at you. “Your mom has a point. You’ve been dropping hints. And those fans who follow you because of me, seem to really like you. If anything, I think they’ve already caught on.”

You gave a small shrug. “Honestly, I’ll be fine with whether we say anything or not. Just as long as I’m not put in the worst position- “Your sentence it cut short when a stewardess gets onto the intercom for your gate.

“So, I know it’s too early for this, but unfortunately, we might be a little delayed because they’re doing maintenance on the plane. They have to make sure the plane is good to go. But I will keep you updated on the whole situation.”

Your smile fades as you look over at Mark. This is it. Your worst nightmare. And you just want to cry. Mark gives you a weak smile before rubbing your back. “It’s going to be okay.” He says in a soft soothing voice. “Why don’t we take a small walk around the airport? Look at all the shops, maybe get some snacks?”

You give him a stiff nod before he offers to help you up, which you take. He gives you another small smile before taking your hand and leading you down the aiport towards where your original gate was.

This airport is huge. That’s one thing that you’ve noticed. Since last time you really didn’t have the opportunity to look around. Another thing you noticed was there there were a lot of restuarants, so choosing from where to eat was never easy. But it also had smaller venders, like the Best Buy Kiosk near your current gate.  It had a few items, all ranging from different prices. Your eyes immediantly landed on the Kindle. A small groan left your lips. You had been meaning to buy one for the longest time but hadn’t gotten around to doing so.

“You want the Kindle, don’t you?” Mark asked, his eyes scanning the items on the small shelves. You look up at him. “I’ve seen it on our Amazon wishlist, it’s been sitting there waiting for you to buy it since I moved it.” He says, looking down at him. “Plus, I’m sure it’ll give you something to do while we wait.”

“I do have books and movies to watch on our Amazon account...” You mutter, looking back at the Kindle, and before you know it, Mark is swipping his card and purchasing it for you. You open your mouth to say something but just accept it. He probably just doesn’t want you to be cranky the entire ride home.

“Do you want some make-up while you’re at it?” You look in the direction he’s looking in and see that there’s a small kiosk for a make-up brand you see in Sephora whenever you walk past it. “Or we can just look at it.”

“I do need a new lipstick color, maybe they’ll have something nice?” You take the Kindle when the Kiosk dispenses it. “Thank you, but you really didn’t have to buy me this.”

“I just don’t want my Princess to be so bored while we wait. Plus, I’m sure you’re tired of reading on your phone. This’ll give you a bigger advantage.” He kisses the top of your head before leading you to the make-up kiosk.

You ended up not buying anything. Mostly because everything is fucking overpriced. There was no way in hell you were going to buy tube of lipstick for eighteen dollars. Especially when you couldn’t see what the color would look like on your skin tone. Fuck that. Instead you headed back over to your gate.

“I don’t want to be the barer of bad news, but I have some horrible news.” Your mom says when you sit back down. “And please don’t be angry about it either.”  You glance at her, just wanting to get the bad news over with. “They might have to change our plane. They’re trying to fix the issue but it doesn’t seem like it’ll be possible.”

“How long are we delayed for?” Mark asks, opening up the package for the Kindle.

“They don’t know. Maybe an hour or so. Maybe more.”

 

It seemed like an eternity before you finally heard back from the whole plane situation. Luckily, they didn’t have to change planes. But the flight was going to be delayed at least another hour because of weather in the area. And at this point, you were beyond frustrated. You feel tears start forming in to corner of your eyes. You’re sleep deprived and just want to sleep in your own bed. You’ve been nothing but good the last few months. Why was God punishing you this way? Good thing this hour didn’t seem too long. Because you were afraid of letting your frustration boil up, and you were pretty sure it was at it reaching point. You didn’t want to let Mark see it. At least not now.

“Oh, Babe.” Mark says shifting next to you to show you his phone. “Bob texted me asking if I wanted to join a Charity Livestream with him in August and I said yes. I’m not sure if you wanted to go along with me.”

“When in August? Because I’ve missed enough work and I don’t think my clients would like it if I took another vacation.”

“The beginning of August. Is that no good for you?” You shake your head. “What? Really?”

“I have a Baptismal to photograph. And I definitely can’s push that back. They’d kill me.” Mark whines like a small child, resting his head against your shoulder. “But I promise to call when I can, even if the time zone is going to be a little wonky.” He instantly cheers up at the mention of calling.

“This is why you’re the best.” He kisses your forehead.

“Good news for those who are still sitting in the lobby. Your delay has been cancelled, which means we will start boarding. Thank you so much for your patience.”  You’re pretty sure you’ve never smiled so hard before. And for the flight back you were going to be able to sit in the front. Which just made your life even easier.

The flight back home seemed about ten times shorter than from when you were heading to Huston. And that was something you were so happy about. That and you had a few episodes of your favorite show to catch up on. Mark slept the whole ride home. And you were thankful for all that. But part of you wished you slept as well. Not that it would help anyway, you would still be grumpy because it was a bumpy ass ride.

 

“I never thought I would say this, but holy shit, did I miss Los Angeles.” You say as you unlock the front door. Your mom dropped the two of you off then went on her merry way. She probably had things planned for when she returned. Mark chuckles as he rolls the luggage into the living room.

“You can say that again. Next time, we’re booking the family trip and not going for the cheaper alternative.” He kisses your bare shoulder, heading to the kitchen to grab a bottle of water. “Mm, don’t forget your appointment is earlier this week.” You wave him off and head to the bedroom to catch up on some much needed sleep.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


	25. It's a Dot

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry I haven't posted in like a month! Please don't hate me! I will have two chapters up today! So catch up or binge read.

On the morning of your appointment, you’re up early because Mark has to go over to Matthias’ house to film some challenges and you’re up making breakfast for him. Your appointment isn’t until noon. Mark kissed the back of your neck.

“You should be sleeping.” He says in a deep voice. You shiver a bit and shake your head. It’s true that you’re tired but you’d rather fully wake up now than struggle waking up in a few hours. “I’ll call or text you to check up on you.”

You laugh softly. “Oh hush, it’s not like I’m dying or anything. It’s just a checkup and to see if we’re going to be parents.” You pour him a cup of coffee and set it off the side. “But I will text you when I get to the doctor’s office.”

Mark takes the mug and takes a small sip. “A text will be fine when you’re there.” His phone goes off. “Oh, I’ve gotta go.” He kisses your temple before grabbing his bag and heading out the door with the mug in his hand. You giggle softly as you head to the bathroom to take a shower.

By the time you’re done with your shower, it is a little past nine. Still way too early to head over to your appointment. So you decide to do what any regular person does when they’re bored, well at least what your mom would make you do, and that is clean. Thank God the apartment is small, which means there isn’t too much that you have to clean before heading out. But you should probably start looking for a new place, at least just in case.

Shortly after you finish cleaning what you could, you notice that its almost eleven. Cursing, you hurry back into the bedroom to grab your bag and your phone. You notice that you have seven missed calls from an unknown number, but you shrug it off and suspect that someone called a wrong number. Something that happened a lot.

 

 

“You’re here early, ____.” The nurse greets when you approach the desk to sign in. “The doctor should be able to see you when he gets back from his lunch break in half an hour.” She hands you a clipboard to fill out. “Are you here for a check-up?”

You take the clipboard. “Sort of, uh, well mostly, yes. And I also want to confirm something else.” You speak in a soft voice as you start filling out the paperwork.

“Oh?” Her eyes sparkle a bit. “Is it what I think it is?”

“I’d rather not say.” You glance at her at which she nods. “Plus I’m not too sure so...” You shrug before handing her the finished paperwork to her. It wasn’t a lot and you were glad about that.

It didn’t take long for another nurse to come get you. She was the one who was going to check all your vitals. Then when that was done, she leads you to an empty room and informed you that the doctor would be back in a few minutes. You nod and spend the rest of the time on your phone, scrolling through social media.

“____, it’s been a while since I’ve seen you, how are things going?” The doctor says as he enters, his own clipboard in his hands.

“Good, I just came back from traveling with my mom and boyfriend. So we thought, hey, why not get a check-up?” You swallow. Why are you so nervous?

“That’s good then. So, I was checking the sheet you filled out and you said that the last menstrual cycle you remember was about two months ago?” He sets the clipboard down. “Do you think you’re pregnant?”

“I think it’s more than possible, actually.” You rub your elbow. “I took a home test, but those are never reliable, so here I am.” He nods as he listens.

“Okay, why don’t we get out of the way? Why don’t you go ahead and lay back and pull your shirt up a bit?” You nod and do exactly as he says. His hands are cold when he presses against your stomach. None of his motions hurt. “None of this hurts right?” You shake your head. “Okay, that’s good. I think it would be better if we do an ultrasound.”

The gel is ice cold when he pours a good amount onto your bare stomach. “This won’t hurt.” He says as he lightly presses the gray wand to your stomach. For a few seconds, there’s nothing on the small screen. It isn’t until the doctor let’s out a small sigh that you look back to the screen and see a small dot on the screen.

“Well, there it is. There’s your little dot. Congratulations.” He zooms in a bit. “I say you’re about five to six weeks pregnant. I’ll have the nurse give you some information that should help you. And I’ll have her schedule another appointment for the next three weeks. Any questions?”

You shake your head. “No, not that I can think of but if I ever have any, I’ll be sure to call the office.”

  
  
Since your appointment didn’t take longer than thirty minutes, you decide to head over to Matthias’ house, (of course you called to make sure it was alright to come over with such a short notice). It’s almost two when you arrive and the July heat is already taking its toll on you. You just want cool weather again but it’s more than likely something that is not going to happen.

“Can you guys be any louder?” You ask when you enter the garage. They’re either done recording or taking a small break. “Aw, gross, what the hell are you covered in?” You ask, not wanting to touch your boyfriend.

“It’s just soda. We did a video for it and I feel like it was rigged.” Mark says, keeping a distance away from you. “I’ll try not to make a mess, especially not in the car.” He runs his hands through his soda drenched hair.

“You guys are like children…” You mutter, slipping your phone into your pocket. “But I’m sure you guys had fun with the clean-up.”

Mark laughs, shaking his hair to get out what little soda he could. “Oh yeah, how was your appointment?” He asks, handing his glasses to you. “Did the doctor clear up any doubts you had?”

You nod. “Yeah, but I’d rather tell you at home.” You glance at everyone in the garage. “Not that I don’t trust you guys, but this is private. And should only be between the two of us.” You give them a weak smile.

“You’re not dying on us, are you?” Bryan asks.

“What? No!” Mark exclaims. “Why would I still be here if she was dying?! Plus, does she look like she’s dying?” There’s a few mutters around the group before all three of them shake their heads. “Good. Because I can assure you that she’s healthy as all hell.”

You roll your eyes. “I’m going back to the apartment. Let me know if you guys need anything.” You start heading back to your car.

“Actually, do you mind going to Walmart with me.” Mark says. “I have to get a few things the next challenge because someone-“ he glances at J-Fred, “didn’t get everything we needed.”

“It’s not my fault Matthias didn’t have enough towels!” He exclaims. “No one specifically said, Joey, go get towels!” Everyone waves him off, going back to what they were doing.

“Only if you put a towel down on the car seat, I don’t need ants in my car.” You say, digging your keys out of your bag. “Last time it was a pain in the ass to get them to finally leave.” You unlock your car and climb in.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to drive?” Mark asks as he gets in as well. “My hands are dry.”

“Absolutely not. Especially if you want me to tell you what the doctor told me.” You pull out of the driveway and start heading towards Walmart.

“Is it worse case? Is it just the two of us?”

“It’s just us and a dot.”

He stays quiet for a few minutes; in which you decide to look at him when you reach a red light. You can tell he’s trying to process what you just said, muttering the short sentence you said over and over to himself. After a while you can tell he has given up because he looks over at you.

“I’ll put you out of your misery, but…” You look back at the road, “You can’t tell anyone. No one. Not our families and not the fans. At least not for a while.”

“Wait.” The gears start turning again in his brain. “Does that mean what I think it means?”

You nod. “It means exactly what you think it means. We are expecting. Doctor said four to six weeks. So, we are the proud parents of a little tiny dot in the making.”

“Oh my god! This is amazing! I can’t believe we’re going to parents!” He lets out a happy sigh, sinking into his seat. “Forget about going to Walmart, let’s go celebrate.”

You laugh. “No, we have to do this or they’re going to think something is up. Plus, it’s your job.”

 

 

 

 


	26. S.O.S

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, hey look. The second chapter for today! Once again, I am super sorry I left you guys in the dark. Was not my intention. Also, no one is safe from my grasps. Muahahaha

Your computer sits on the island as you wash the dishes, Mark is talking about his day at the zoo. He said he was even going to upload a weird vlog that his viewers might like. You laugh at that little statement, turning off the tap. “When are you supposed to come home again?” You ask, tilting the screen back so he could see your face.

“Tomorrow night. Do you already miss me that badly?” He asks, a shit eating grin on his face. “I mean; I knew you’d miss me but I didn’t know you’d miss me like that.” Your roll your eyes.

“Shut the fuck up.” You say in a teasing tone, leaning against the counter a bit. “Of course I miss you. We haven’t been apart since we started dating. Unless you don’t miss me. Then you can stay with Bob.” In the background, you hear Bob say, ‘ _No please! Take him back!’_ You laugh at that. “Fine, for your sake Bob, I will take him back.”

Bob appears behind Mark, waving at the screen. “Please do take him back. Not that I don’t like you Mark, but, you know.” He clears his throat. “How are you doing, ___? No problems I’m assuming?”  

You notice when Mark looks away, almost like he doesn’t want to look you in the eye. “Mark, honey, love of mine, did you tell Bob?” Mark glances at you. “Mark, did you tell Bob?”

Bob starts laughing. “He’s scared of you. Yes, he told me. He wouldn’t shut up about it. He’s acting like the baby is already here.”

You sigh. “I thought we weren’t going to tell anyone?”

“You said we weren’t going to tell out families. So, I thought it would be okay if I told Bob.”

“I’ll forgive you this one time. But don’t let anyone know. Same goes to you Bob, no one must know of this great secret of ours.”

“I promise.” They both say. In the background, you hear Bob’s wife call them to go eat. Mark smiles. “Alright, baby, I will talk to you tomorrow. You take care of yourself and our little baby. I love you.” He makes kissy faces at the screen which you roll your eyes at.

“I love you too. Be good. Bob, if he misbehaves I give you permission to hit him.” You smile, hanging up the Skype call.

 

 

The next day you’re barely able to have a moment to yourself because of how busy you are. Today is the day you’re supposed to go to the Baptismal, your mom is going with you, just so you won’t be alone. She’s already in your living room, scrolling through her phone.

“Have you spoken to Mark since he left?” She asks, barely looking up from your phone. You scoff at her question.

“Mom, what kind of girlfriend would I be if I didn’t check up on him? He’s coming home tonight.” You say, stopping in front of the bedroom door as you put on your earrings. “So now I don’t have to be lonely.”

Your mom finally looks up. “Have you been gaining weight?” She asks almost instantly. You glare at her. “What? You just seem fuller from the last time I saw you.”

“Mom, shut up, will you? All my childhood you’ve been calling me skinny and now you’re going to talk about it again? Geez. Who cares if I gained a little bit of weight?” You roll your eyes and head back into the bathroom to finish getting ready. The doorbell rings. “Mom, can you get that?”

“On it!” She calls back as she heads towards the front door. You grab the blow dryer. You can hear her speaking with whoever it is at the door, well more like yelling. Something doesn’t seem right. You grab your phone and unlock it just in case.

She calls out your name before you hear a loud noise. Your heart and stomach immediately sink at the silence followed. You wait a few seconds, listening for any movement. Nothing. Whoever it was ran off.  “Mom, you alright? What was that?” No answer. None of this is striking you as good. Your stomach is doing backflips and your heart is racing. Slowly you start making your way towards to front door. You voice is stuck in your throat when you notice your mom on the floor.

“Mamita. Get up, now is not the time to be playing games.” You set your phone down as you shake her a bit. “Mom. Come on. This isn’t funny.” Your gaze shifts towards something glistening in the sunlight. Blood. “Fuck…” You grab your phone and quickly dial the emergency number.

It’s a few seconds before it connects. But when it does, you don’t give the emergency worker any time to speak before letting them know what’s happening. You’re calm, mostly because you’ve been in this situation far too many times. Your dad was a victim of a shooting. You listen to the worker and do everything she says. Luckily your mom is breathing.

It’s a total of twenty minutes before anyone gets here. When the police start questioning you, you give them one word answers, in shock. Then you remember the security cameras. You point to them. Hopefully that could help. They ask you to pull up the footage for them which you do. You fast forward through the footage, stopping when someone approaches the front door. It’s someone you don’t know. You furrow your eyebrows. What exactly is going on?

“You don’t know who that is, right?” The officer asks. You shake your head, gripping onto the counter for support. Your head is spinning and you want to throw up. It’s either from the stress of what just happened or the pregnancy. The officer puts his hand on your shoulder. “I suggest you occupy another space, is there anyone you could move in with until we catch the shooter?”

“My boyfriend, but he’s out on business right now. I can’t really bother him…” Then you remember that you still have the key. “Never mind, I have a key. I’ll just… call him and let him know.” You clear your throat.

The officer nods. “As of now, you can either head to the hospital or let your boyfriend know. We’ll keep you updated on the situation.” You nod, seeing the officer out.

Part of you wants to head over to a friend’s house, but you don’t know how happy they’ll be with you showing up unannounced. Not to mention that Matthias and Amada became parents just a mere days ago. And you don’t want to go to the hospital, you’ll probably break down and have to be admitted yourself. That’s not something you want to happen, especially since Mark would worry.

Instead you grab your phone and keys. Maybe now would be a good time to go get Chica from the doggie hotel and taking her out for a walk. That little pup has so much love to give that you might feel a little better.

 

 

The breeze feels great. Chica is curled up against you. The two of you found yourselves on a nearby beach. You want to clear your mind. And this is just the perfect place to do so. You reach out and pet her head in a loving manner. Your phone rings. You pick up after a few seconds.

“Hey, honey…” You say softly. “What’s the matter?” You can see that he’s upset. “Are you at the airport?”

“Bad news. Something happened with the computers and almost all flights are cancelled or delayed. My flight was cancelled. I’ll be stuck with Bob until tomorrow. Hopefully.”

“Aw fuck. That’s horrible. I wish you were home… I need you. But I have Chica with me. Isn’t that right, girly?” You pat her belly which causes her to wake up from her light slumber. “I’ll take her home with me, that way she had some nice company.”

“What’s the matter? Are you okay? Is it the baby?” He asks, worry in his voice.

You take a few moments before speaking. “Mark, I don’t want to live at that apartment anymore.”

“You’re scaring me. What happened?”

“I… someone wanted to break in, I guess. I’m not sure. They rang the doorbell and my mom answered the door and whoever it was shot her. I called the hospital and they said she’s stable and everything. I just… after everything I think it’s time we move.”

Mark is silent on the other end of the line. He clears his throat after a while. “Uh, yeah… I think it is time to move. Why don’t you move into my place for the time being? You still have a key, right?”

You make a soft noise. You do have the key, but you’re starting to grow paranoid. What if they were after you? What if that bullet was meant for you and not your mom? What if there was some crazy nut job that wanted you gone and out of the picture?

“I don’t know…” You feel tears forming again and you grip onto the phone. “I… I just… I feel paranoid right now. I’ve had random numbers call me. And it’s always the same one. What if someone hates me?” Chica stands up and starts wandering off. You get up and follow her as quickly as you can.

He sighs. “You don’t have to stay in my house. But it would make me feel a lot better knowing you were there. Plus, cameras have been installed. I asked Matthias for some advice and he helped.”

A small smile tugs at your lips. “Well aren’t you prepared for anything.” You grab Chica by her leash to stop her from wandering any further. “Alright. Fine. I’ll take what I need and our cute little puppersnup over and not leave the house for a while.” Mark laughs.

“I love you.” He says softly. He probably doesn’t want Bob to tease him.

“I love you too, now go do something fun because I doubt you’d love to be bored the rest of this time.”

“But I’m having fun talking to you. Can’t I talk to my lovely girlfriend for the rest of the day?”

“No, because you know how I feel about driving and being on the phone at same time. Plus, you’re forgetting that I have precious cargo in the car with me.”

“You mean our baby?”

“Dumbass, I meant the baby and Chica. So, go do something productive and have fun. I’ll call you or maybe facetime you later tonight. That is if you aren’t passed out by then.” You blow kisses into the phone before hanging up and leading Chica back to the car.


	27. Homecoming

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That time again for me to ask you what kind of things you'd like to happen. More cute shit? Some more serious stuff? Anything can happen at this point.

You smack Mark’s hand away when he points towards the exit towards the airport. If there’s something more than being stuck in the airport for long periods of time, it’s people point to where you need to go. Mark whines softly as he moves his hands.

“Stop point for the love of god. I know which exit to take. You’re forgetting that I pick up my mom when she comes back from her own trips. I know the road like the back of my hand.” To you, you sound fine, but to Mark you sound super sassy today. After all, you are past three months.

At the last appointment, the doctor concluded that you are indeed further along in your pregnancy than expected. The good thing to come out of that was that you haven’t had to deal with morning sickness. And thank god too, because Amanda had the worst case when she was pregnant.

“But, explain to me why Tyler had to book the earliest flight possible?” You ask, glancing at the clock on the dashboard. It’s a little past six in the morning and his flight isn’t due to land for another hour or so. “A pregnant woman like me, shouldn’t be up at this hour.”

Mark glances at you. “And as that baby’s father, I suggest you stop using the pregnant woman card. You’re only three months. Hardly any difference.” Mark is cranky too. After all it is six in the morning and he hasn’t had his coffee yet.

You laugh. “Okay, I think the first thing we’re going to do is get you some coffee when we get into the airport. Because a grumpy boyfriend makes for a grumpy girlfriend.” You roll down the window and take the parking stub before heading into the parking lot to find a good spot to park. But it is Los Angeles, that itself is near impossible.

 

 

After what seemed like an eternity and a day, you finally find a nice place to park. You’re more than happy that it isn’t in the sun because even though it is September, it doesn’t mean it’s going to be cool.

“Wait up, will you?” You call out to Mark as you hurry up to catch him. Your boots echo across the concrete parking lot floor. “We have a lot of time before his flight lands.” You finally catch up and grab onto his sleeve. “You’re making me nervous, acting like we’re the ones who have to catch a flight.”

He slows down his to a pace you can keep up with. “Sorry, I’m just excited. Tyler is finally coming to live with us!” He exclaims. He seems like a child who is way too excited for Christmas.

“Honestly, you’re way too excited. I live with you too. You were never really alone.” You laugh a bit. “I’m excited too, but you don’t see me spewing with excitement.”

He chuckles. “Actually, I’d rather you not spew anything. You’ve been doing well for these three months without any sickness. And honestly, I’d rather it stays that way.” He kisses your temple.

“That reminds me, we need to go visit Matthias and Amanda soon. I want to hold that little precious lump of a baby. That baby is going to be like my niece. I have a few things I’ve already picked out for her.”

“You can always go over and help her out with Luna. I’m sure she’d appreciate the help. Not to mention that you could get some tips and get some practice in for when this little one comes into the world.” He lightly rubs your stomach, to which you smack his hand away.

“You know, we still need to come out to the world. People are going to get suspicious when they notice that I’m a little… round.”

“I know, which is why I want you to work for me. Not like before. I mean for real this time. I want you to deal with recording when we do skits. Almost like a director of some sorts. Quit your job, or at least lighten the load. I’m sure Matthias could appreciate the help too.”

You roll your eyes. “Honestly, I’m up for anything. I’ve been thinking of lightening my load. I can’t keep lugging around a huge camera. Especially when I start showing which might be in a matter of weeks.”

“So, what’s the final answer? Will you work for your boyfriend?”

You hum a bit, ignoring his question for a few more seconds before nodding. “Yeah, I’ll work for my Youtuber boyfriend.”

 

 

Tyler’s flight landed earlier than expected, you were halfway done with your tea when you saw Mark start waving his arms. You were a little more than confused until you noticed him. Tyler was safely in Los Angeles. The two of them hugged it out before bringing him over. You knew Tyler from the few times he came over to visit but you only knew him as Tyler and that was pretty much it. You had no idea how much Mark had told him. At least not until Mark introduced you to him as your girlfriend.

The three of you hung out a little bit, waiting while Tyler’s luggage made its way through the belt system. After his luggage was claimed, you all started heading towards the parking lot. You learned that Tyler’s position was to keep Mark in check of uploading and scheduling things. Hopefully that would help with the uploading problems he was having in the last few weeks.

“Oh, I meant to ask, how is your mom doing?” Tyler asks, closing the trunk of the car. You look up and smile.

“Good, she’s been at home resting since the incident. It’s been what, a month? She can’t do much and she’s mad about that. Especially because she’s so active. But the doctor’s orders are to be on bed rest for six months. No extreme activity. We sometimes go on a walk with her. And by we, I mean Chica and I.” You hand the keys to Mark; he’s going to drive home. “She’s at the house right now. She wanted to have dinner with all of us.”

“Plus having Chica around her is helping her a lot.” Mark adds, opening the back-car door for you. “You know? She had this sudden realization that she could have died. So, she’s just been hanging around us for a while. At least until the six weeks are over with. Not that I mind it, she’s a great woman.”

You laugh as you slide into the back seat. “Nice try to save yourself. I think she said she was going to order food for us. I don’t remember exactly.”

“Did they catch the guy who shot her?” Tyler asks, glancing back at you when he was in the passenger seat.

“Yeah, they caught the guy. Jerk thought I had left for the day because he didn’t see any movement in the house. And was more than shocked to see my mom when she opened the door. Found the guy trying to hide behind a dumpster about ten minutes away. Dumbass still had the weapon on him too.”

“What of the apartment then? Did you end up moving out?”

You nod. “Yeah. Same day it happened, I packed what I could and moved to Mark’s place. I had help with the rest of the stuff. The landlady was kind of sad that one of her best tenants was packing up but she understood. After one break in and the shooting, it really gets you thinking.”

“So, does that mean she said yes?” Tyler asks, looking over at Mark.

“She did say yes.”

“Wait, to which one? To working with you or the marrying you one?”

“I’m sorry? What was that you just said Tyler?” You ask, unsure if you just heard correctly. “Please do repeat what you just said, if you don’t mind.”

“Dammit Tyler, you just ruined it.”

“I’m sorry! I thought you had already asked her to marry you! So, I wasn’t sure if it was a yes to that or the other!”

Mark groans. “Yes, you heard right. I was planning on marrying… well asking you to marry me. But that cat is out of the bag. At least act surprised when I ask, okay?”

“Is that why my mom insisted on coming over? Was she already in on the plan?” He nods. “Oh my god, you’re a sneaky asshole. At least tell me you’re marrying me because you want to and not because I’m pregnant.”

Tyler blinks, looking at Mark then looking at you. Something tells you he didn’t know you were pregnant. “Wait, you’re pregnant?”

“Mark! I thought you would have at least told Tyler!”

Mark shrinks a bit in the driver’s seat. “You told me not to tell anyone else. So… I didn’t tell Tyler.”

“But he’s going to be living with us, he has a right to know.”

“Welcome to Los Angeles, Tyler.” He says, a nervous smile on his face.


	28. A Serious Talk

“ _Mamita_ , we’re back from picking Tyler up.” You say as you open the door to let Mark and Tyler inside. The house is engulfed with amazing aromas. She’s probably been cooking since you two left. “I swear to God, _Mamita_ , if you’re running around the kitchen...” You mutter, heading towards the kitchen.

In the kitchen is your mom but also another male. He looks vaguely familiar until he turns around. It’s your dad. The dad you hadn’t seen in years because of some legal issues. He beams at you when he sees your expression. “There’s my Princess…” He has a thick Spanish accent.

“ _Papi…_ What... what are you doing here? I thought you were still in jail?” Tears are stinging as you look at him. “I thought… I thought I wasn’t going to see you again…” He holds his arms out for a hug and you do just that. You hug him tightly. The last time you saw him was when you were a freshman in college.

“I got out on good behavior…” He says softly, rubbing your back in a loving manner. “And I had to make sure your mother was taking care of herself. Not to mention I wanted to see my Princess… it’s been so long after all.”

“It’s been nine years, _Papi…_ I thought you were never going to get out. I thought I was never going to see you again.” You look over at your mom who has a shit eating grin on her face. “Wait a minute… you knew, didn’t you? You planned this meal!”

Your mom holds her hands up. “You caught me. I picked him up after you two left to pick up Tyler. This meal is for the two of them, to welcome them!” She exclaims. “Plus, we’d like to have a talk with you and Mark.”

“I didn’t do anything wrong, did I?” Mark asks, entering the kitchen. “I’ve been good after all.”

“So, this is the Mark I’ve been hearing about?” Your dad looks Mark over and you’re starting to worry that he’s going to start judging him. “ _Princesa_ , you caught yourself a good-looking boy.”

You groan. “ _Papi_ , you’ve met him before. Remember him? We lived on the same street back in Cincinnati.” Your mom laughs.

“Ricardo, do you really not remember him? I mean, it has been a long time since you saw him. And he was shorter too. The Fischbach boys.”

You can see your dad processing all the information. “Right! I remember! His dad was in the air force… or something along the lines. Damn, you grew up. You were just this little when I last saw you.” He holds his hand to his hip.

Your dad was hardly in your life. After all, your mom and dad never married. Then came the whole legal troubles… which he ran from. Occasionally he would show up for the holidays but would never stay longer than two days. It wasn’t until you Freshman year in college that the law finally caught up with him and arrested him inches away from the house you grew up in. But you were glad he was finally out. Hopefully he wouldn’t get into any trouble.

“Mom, where is he going to be staying?” You ask, lightly touching Mark’s arm, letting him know he could leave and help Tyler with settling in.

“My place. I’m not going to stick around much longer. After all, you two have guest and that’s enough right there. After dinner, we’re leaving. There’s a lot we have to catch up on.”

 

 

The rest of the day goes by quickly. Your dad hangs around in the living room, sometimes talking to Mark or Tyler but sometimes he would play with Chica. You hang around your mom in case she needs anything but mostly if she decides to start cooking again (in which you take care of).

“I need you to tell me the truth.” Your mom suddenly says when Mark enters the kitchen. He stops when he hears the tone in her voice. She’s serious.

“Uh, about what?” You ask, handing your boyfriend a bottle of water and an apple. “Mom, you’re scaring me with that tone of voice. What do you want to know?”

From her back pocket, she pulls out a small zip lock sandwich bag. Inside is the pregnancy test from months ago. Your heart stops. You had been too busy to unpack and she probably took it upon herself to unpack for you. Which means you had totally forgotten that was even in there.

“Shit…” Mark mutters, looking away. You can’t help but laugh nervously. This is a great day, isn’t it?

“When were you two going to tell me I was going to be a grandmother? The day you went into labor?” She asks in a firm tone. “Because this is a great way to find out. I thought you two were smarter than this! I thought I taught you better.”

You glare at her. “First, you had me out of marriage. Don’t talk to me like you’re a saint mom. Secondly, what makes you think you can go through my things?” You take the zip lock bag from her. “Thirdly, we wanted to make sure it wasn’t a false positive.”

She looks over at Mark. “Is this why you asked to marry her? Because she’s pregnant?”

“Mom, please. Don’t try to start anything. Today is not the time to start anything. He’s not marrying me because I’m pregnant. Fuck, he doesn’t have to marry me at all.”

“How far along are you?”

“Three… next week makes four months.” You pause for a second. “But please. Stop. We’re doing this because we want to, not because we have to.”

“After all, we are twenty-seven. It’s not like we’re seventeen years old or anything.” Mark says softly. “You know the kind of guy I am, I wouldn’t marry her just because of the baby. I’m marrying her because I want to.”

A smile forms on her lips. “I know. I just wanted to hear you say that, if I’m being honest.” She walks past the two of you without saying a single word.

“I… uh, what just happened?” Mark asks.

“I’m not quite sure myself. I’m just as confused as you are.”

 

 

Dinner is going great, that is until your mom opens her mouth. You’re in the middle of swallowing your bite when she says, “So, your little _Princesa_ is pregnant.” You cough loudly, taking your glass of water to take sip. Your dad immediately looks to you then at Mark. And you can smell the trouble brewing.

“That’s not true. My _Princesa_ would never throw away her life for some guy.” He says, glaring down at Mark. “She’s pure. Nothing would be getting into her-“ You hold your hands up to stop him from continuing any further.

“ _Papi,_ stop being inappropriate. Please. Yes, I am pregnant. Four months if you’re curious. I’m twenty-seven for crying out loud. I can’t be your sweet innocent little girl forever. I have to grow up.”

“At least tell me you’re going to get married.”

“Here we go again. _Papi,_ what’s the rush? It’s not like it’s going to make any kind of difference if we marry or not. No one is going to judge us. Fuck grandma if she does. But next time we go see her, we will be married. Just not right now.”

“Actually, if I may…” Mark interrupts and pulls a small black velvet box from his pocket. “Your mom and I had this planned. The proposal part, not the whole her finding out you’re pregnant.” He opens the small box to reveal a simple yet elegant ring.

“You really don’t have to do this… not now.” You mutter. This was not how you were planning to get engaged. As much as you loved your family, they knew it was going to happen whether they were around.

“I’ll make it up to you. I’ll take you out on a nice romantic dinner and make sure you’re comfortable.” He says softly, leaning in so only you could hear him. “Something a lot more romantic than this.” You sigh softly then nod. You take the ring and slip it onto your finger.

This could have gone better, but it was probably just to make your family happy. As well as get them off your back for now. But they’re happy from what you can see.

“Now, when’s the wedding?” Your dad asks, a smug look on his face.

“Now, Ricardo, don’t get ahead of yourself. Let them do all the planning, after all they’ve been engaged for about two minutes.” Your mom says, picking up her glass. “Congratulations, you two.” She offers you a small smile.

Tyler laughs. You’re a bit shocked, after all it is the first noise he’s made since he arrived. He was probably just observing up until today. You just offer and smile. All of this has tired you out and you are in much need for a nap.


	29. Just a small party... and he's hurt

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oops. Putting this chapter up a little late and for that I am super sorry. I kept forgetting I had to update. But at this point I will be getting on a schedule. Maybe not a new chapter every week but every other week.

“Mark, you have the address to the warehouse, right?” You ask, grabbing your sweater off the back of the chair and slipping it on. Your belly hasn’t started showing, but people can tell that there’s something up with you.

“I have it set into my phone. Ready to go or not yet?” He asks, grabbing your bag off the counter. You can tell he’s more than excited to get to the warehouse. Then again, so are you because you haven’t seen it yet. But he’s also secretly excited to meet the little bundle of human, Luna. You met her already. Of course, you had to. Babies are the love of your life, well, they’re second place to your lovely boyfriend- fiancé. There are several pictures of Luna littering your phone.

“I’m more than ready.” You say, kissing his arm, and heading towards the door. “The gifts should be in the car…” You try to remember if there was anything else you needed. “That’s it, right?” You ask.

“I believe so, if not, then we can always stop by their house to drop whatever it is we forgot. Now, once again, are you and my child ready?” He lightly presses his hand against your nearly nonexistent belly.

“We are. God, how many times are you going to ask?” You roll your eyes, opening the door, and heading out towards the car.

Even though you were around the time you could find out the gender of the baby, you didn’t want to find out. At least not yet. You loved the idea of having a gender reveal party. At least among family and friend, even though most of your friends were Youtubers.

You had spoken to friends about it (Mark’s identity was a secret) and they loved the idea. Hell, a few even wanted to throw the party for you. You would let them throw the party for you, but you knew that your mom would insist on throwing it for you. So, you turned them down and just added them to the party.

 

“Oh wow, the place looks great.” You mutter, pushing the door open when you arrived. Matthias still wasn’t here. After all, it was a surprise party. “And they’re going to renovate it, right?”

“Yes, I think it starts on Monday.” Mark says, stopping in the middle of the hall. “Ah, they’re all in the warehouse.” He grabs your hand and leads you to the large warehouse.

“Jesus, how much did this place cost?” You laugh a bit, looking around. Tyler laughs as well. Sometimes he’s just too quiet for you. “Do you need our help setting up?”

“You, are not helping set up anything.” Mark says, pointing to a nearby chair. “You’re going to sit your pretty little butt down and rest.” You glare at him.

“No, I’m not.” You hiss, refusing to listen to him. “I’m four months pregnant. It’s not like helping set the table is going to make me push the baby out. Plus, it’ll be suspicious as hell.” You glare at him. “At least let me help with the decorations?” You ask, looking up at him with puppy eyes.

Mark groans and nods. “Fine. You can help them but don’t tire yourself out too much.” You grin, kissing his cheek, and heading over to Bryan to ask if there was anything that needed to be done.

 

As soon as the lights were off, you knew exactly what that meant. Matthias was already in the building and before you knew it, the lights turned off and everyone greeted him with a loud ‘Happy Birthday!’ You clapped, smiling at how shocked Matthias was.

Most of the time you hung around Mark other times you wandered off to talk to other people. Of course, everyone here knew who you were since you were often over when they did challenge during the old set up, aside from the few new faces.

Bryan’s little girls hung around you, often asking to play with them. Which was just the cutest thing ever. You loved playing with little kids because they always had the best imaginations.

But what was even cuter was seeing Mark’s reaction to Luna. It was the first time he had seen her. You had been over to their house a lot of times and held her whenever she wasn’t attached to Amanda.

“You should hold her.” You suggest, watching Luna’s expression change. Mark was keeping his distance. “She’s not going to bit you.” You reassure, glancing at Mark for a second.

“She’s just so little…” Mark mutters. His response causes you to laugh.

“Let me hold her for you, Amanda. That way you can eat comfortably.” You say, holding your arms out for the chubby baby. “Oh. Before I forget, the gift we brought is for all three of you. As in a separate gift for everyone.” When Amanda hands over Luna, you let out a small grunt. “She’s heavier than last time.” You laugh softly.

“Just look at her tiny foot…” Mark says, watching the two of you.

“Are you going to be like that when you have kids of your own?” Amanda ask, picking at her food.

“I think he’s just captivated by how small and cute she is. Though, all babies are like that.” You say, smiling a bit. “Cute things captivate him in a second.”

“Is that an engagement ring I spy?” She asks in a sing-song voice. She moves over so she can see it clearly. “Ready to get married then?”

Mark chuckles. “More than ready. At least, we are. Her dad wasn’t too happy about it. After all, I’m stealing his princess from her.” He winks at you.

“Date for the wedding or nothing planned yet?” She asks, taking Luna when she starts fussing.

“No, no rush to get married as of now. We’ll do it when we’re ready to plan a wedding. We’re fine with a long engagement, babe?” You nod.

 

“Wait, what do you mean they’re going to punch holes into the wall?” You ask, setting down your empty plastic cup. This was the first you’ve heard of something like this. “Someone is going to get hurt and that someone is Mark.” You mutter, hurrying out the warehouse towards the front where everyone was gathering.

You arrive late. But late enough to hear the thud of someone’s fist contact the wall. You have a feeling it’s your boyfriend. And it is when you finally nudge through the crowd. You’re hoping Mark didn’t break his hand.

“You really are an idiot.” You mutter, watching as he shakes his hand. “And you aren’t even drunk either.” Mark laughs, showing his already bruising hand to you. “Good thing I always carry some kind of first-aid kit with me.”

You couldn’t speak for anyone else because everyone else seemed like they were at least a little bit drunk. But that didn’t really matter to you because the wall was going to be torn down on Monday.

 

“I hope you don’t plan on overworking yourself.” You say, cleaning his fresh wound. It’s not that bad, it’s just red and looks super irritating at this point. “Even if you’re a big tough guy, you really shouldn’t be doing stuff like this.” You scold him. You’re not mad that he did something like this, you’re just upset he didn’t take any precautions and ended up hurting himself. “Everyone is going to think I put you through the blender.”

“They wouldn’t think that. You’re the biggest sweetheart out there. Though you can be a little harsh sometimes. And sassy.” He leans forward and kisses your forehead. “You’re going to be even sassier now too. But I think everyone will get used to it.”

You stick your tongue out, placing the band-aid on his knuckles.


	30. Just Another Livestream

Part of you is nervous. It’s the middle of November and you’re almost six months pregnant and your belly is slowly starting to show. Most people wouldn’t be able to tell right away but others wouldn’t be able to tell because of the clothes you wore.

“Do I really have to join the livestream?” You ask, making sure the camera was pointing in the correct place. “I just feel that it would be fine without me.” You add quickly. As much as you’re one to jump in the middle of his recording sessions to bug him, you feel like today isn’t the day for that.

“Are you feeling insecure today?” He asks, making sure most of the software is working. You can feel his eyes on you as he does so.

“I am feeling very insecure, thank you very much.” You say, “more than I was last week. I don’t know why… I just feel really bad about myself and kind of want to hide in a hole for the rest of the day.”

Mark stops what he’s doing and gives you a small chuckle. “Our little one is causing you some problems.” He stands up and motions for you to come closer. You groan and scoot closer to him. He wraps his arms around your waist. “You are the prettiest girl I know and there’s nothing you should worry about because I love you and the little one who is wrecking her mom’s emotions today.”

“If I agree to join the livestream towards the end will you get off my case?” You ask, resting your chin on his shoulder.

“Yes, just for a little bit. I’m sure the viewers would love to see your shining face again.”

You roll your eyes at how sappy he is. “What if they figure out that I’m pregnant?”

“They don’t know we’re together, they’ll probably think it’s some other guys.” He shrugs. “But most of them will probably put two and two together. Either way, your tummy is still tiny.” His hand moves from your waist to your tiny belly.  

“I get it already. I could pass for someone who isn’t pregnant but I totally am.”

A groan came from the entrance, it was Ethan, the newest member of the crew. “You’re already pregnant, isn’t that enough, Mark? Or do you plan on ruling the rule with deep voiced babies?”

You laugh at his comment. “Now that you bring that up, that doesn’t sound like a bad plan. What do you think of the plan?”

“Sounds good to me, actually. We’ll rule the world by the time we’re both forty.”

“The stream is going to start soon.” Tyler says, turning on the television in the background.

 

You quietly sit in your seat, often answering when any of the guys as you a question. Good thing everything is running so smoothly so far. That is until the stream is almost over and Mark looks over to you.

“Do you want to join us for a couple of rounds? The stream is almost over and the chat has been requesting that you come join us.” Of course, the chat was, you would often look at the chat to make sure no one was seeing any problems. They were demanding you join.

Giving a soft sigh, you pick up you phone. “All right, I’ll join for the rest of the stream. Anything to calm the wild beasts.” You say jokingly as you push the desk chair over. Mark grins.

“Do you know how to play?”

“Yes, I’ve seen a few people play, so I have the hang of it.” You set your phone on the back of the couch to make yourself comfortable. Mark grabs your phone to pull up the website. “Hey, give me, I have my own hands to do things.” You lightly smack his arm trying to get your phone back.

He hands your phone back. “Normally I would ask questions from you guys, but since all of us are going to be joining for the rest of the stream, we’ll save those for another time.”

The rounds seem to be quick unless they start bickering of course, which you tend to stay out of.

“You suck at these games.” You mutter, watching Mark’s expression.

“Not my fault you seem to have a super dark and dirty mind.”

You shrug, a small smirk on your lips. “Maybe it’s because of the people I hang around with.” You won the last few rounds, which was surprising since you have never played.

“I have a suggestion, how about we do a few questions to unwind after all of this?” Ethan asks as he opens twitter. “Sounds like a good way to end a stream if you ask me.” He scrolls through the feed. “Oh, here’s one. Someone- well several people are asking if that’s an engagement ring.” He looks up at you.

“Oh, well I guess I can’t really hide this, can I?” You glance at Mark before holding your hand up. “Yes, it is an engagement ring.”

“Want to tell us who the lucky guy is?” Mark asks in a calm tone.

You want to kick him in the shin but you can’t do that right now. “Actually, yes. I think everyone has the right to know who the lucky guy is.” You smile and motion to Mark. “Though, I think a lot of people saw this coming, if I’m being honest.”

Ethan gasps, clearly wanting to act surprised. “You two are getting married? How come I didn’t know?!” He exclaims, turning back to his phone to look for more questions. “Does this mean you two were dating this whole time?”

“Isn’t that how engagements work? It would be a little weird if I wasn’t dating her.” Mark admits.

“Another question, how long have you two been dating and who asked who?”

You laugh softly. “There was never formal question really, it was something that just happened. But if you’re looking for an official date, I would have to say when we went to karaoke with the Grumps.”

“Actually, I think the time we went to Disney would be more accurate.”

“Okay, we were dating then, but nothing was official until the karaoke incident.” You correct. “Which is almost a year?”

Ethan blinks. “Wait, I want to know what happened when you guys went to Karaoke.”

“Ethan, that’s for when you’re older.” You say, checking the time. “Oh look, it’s time to end the stream.” You quickly get up to avoid more questions and motion towards them to wrap it up. You know for sure that after today, people are going to start asking more about you, especially after admitting that the two of you were going to get married. But hopefully, you wouldn’t be in the spotlight too much.

 


	31. Baby Shower

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it's a little short- but it's cute af

"Wait, can you move the cake over to the kitchen? Yeah, right there." You say, smiling a bit. "Thank you."

"You love beautiful." Your mom says from behind you. "I still can't believe you're due in three months." She reaches up and tucks a strand of hair behind your ear. "And nice theme too."

You went with a Greek Mythology theme for your baby shower and even went with a long dress that matched the theme. The dress exaggerated your tummy. But that's exactly what you wanted. 

"Mom, do you mind helping with decorating? Mark has to schedule the uploads before helping us." You say, handing her a basket of table decorations. "I'll love you more than I did two seconds ago." 

She rolled her eyes before heading off to the table to set it up. A small laugh leaves your lips as you head up to Mark recording space. Knocking, you open the door and lean in. "Decorating is almost done. We're ready when you are."

"Just finishing up the last few bits for these videos." He says, glancing at you. "Oh wow, look at you. You look like you came out of a modeling catalog." You roll your eyes. 

"Shut up and finish so you can join us. Don't forget we're finding out the gender of our baby today."

"How could I forget? This is going to be a big day." He admits, defining his headphones down. "Well, one of the biggest days of my life." 

"You are such a dork." You admit, smiling. "I'll be downstairs. Guest will be arriving any moment."

"I'll see you down there." He winks, blowing you a quick kiss. "You look beautiful."

"You said that already." You mutter, heading back to the living room just in time to hear the doorbell ring. 

 

You hand Mark a box. It's neatly wrapped. Some of the guest bought you gifts for the baby. Others bought things that would be useful such as bottle cleaners and diapers. 

"Oh my god, look at that." You laugh when Mark hands you the onesie. On it in bright red letters reads, 'My Daddy is a Youtuber' with a pink mustache. "This is great." It came with cute little matching socks with the M on them. 

"So when are we going to find out what you're having?" A guest asks. "You've had gifts for both genders. Put us out of our misery."

Mark laughs. "I think it's time we find out. We're dying to know as well." He helps you up and leads you to the kitchen where the cake is. "Shall we cut the cake together?" 

You nod and take the nearby cake knife and both cut into it. Your heart beats rapidly as you do. You can't tell what the color is so far, but as soon as the slice was placed onto a paper plate, you were greeted with a bright blue. 

"It's a boy!" Everyone exclaims, breaking out into cheers. You look back at Mark and he kisses you. 

The rest of the shower continues without a problem. There's a bright smile on your lips. You're more than happy to finally know the gender of your baby who was a mere months away from making his entrance into the world. 

"You look super happy." Mark says softly, kissing your temple. "I was kind of hoping we'd have a little girl so she'd look like you."

"Our little boy can look like me as well." You lightly smack his arm. "It'll be great if he's a little mini me." 

He smiles, resting his head on your shoulder. "I'm happy." He says softly. "I have a beautiful fiancé, I have a great life, and I have a baby on the way. What more can I ask for?"

"I think we're doing just fine, if I'm being honest. Though, we still have to tell your fans about this."

"I forgot about that..." he hums before adding, "we can either wait until you're ready to pop or we can have someone take a cute picture of us and we can post it." 

"I think both of them are cute ideas but I'd rather not wait." She wave to your photographer, who works for your old company. The photographer has the two of you face the other way, Mark's hands on your growing tummy, and both of you are grinning. It all feels like a dream. 

"I'll email you the pictures over the weekend. I want to make sure they're perfect." The photographer says, looking over all the pictures again. "And I'll also have them printed and mailed to you."

"Thank you so much." Mark says, waving at them as they head out the door. The shower had already reached its end. Most of the guests were already gone but a select few stayed back to help with clean up. 

"So, what are we going to do now?" You ask. "We've done everything possible."

"I guess we wait for this little guy to get ready." He says lovingly. "Though, three months is a long time. I guess we could set up the nursery?"

"Mom is going to do that. I'm sure she had everything ordered and is just waiting for it to arrive."

"We can always just enjoy these last three months together. We can do whatever you'd like."

"Being six months pregnant doesn't really help much. But I'm sure there's a lot we can do here in California."

"Then for the next three months we'll do cute things, just as long as work doesn't get in the way."

"I'll be fine if I'm just spending time with you."


	32. Nursery

A small laugh leaves your lips as you slide off the couch to the floor. At the moment, you're in the nursery for your baby. Mark has been coming and going, bringing bags of clothes from friends now that the gender had been revealed. There's just so much. "How much more is there?!" You exclaim, picking up a cute pair of shorts. "There's more than enough to last us for the first two years!"

"This is the last one, babe." He says, setting the last bag down. "Little guy has more clothes than I do." He mutters, sitting down across from you. 

"Everything is cute though. I'm glad everyone decided to smother us with clothes." You start organizing everything by age which ranged from newborn to twenty-four months. 

"This little guy is going to be loved." Mark says, helping you organize everything. "I can't wait to meet him."

"I think everyone is excited to met him." You admit, stopping what you're doing to pick up your phone. "Oh, look, the pictures." You show him the pictures. 

"Oh yeah, that one is a winner. Are you going to post it?" He asks, handing the phone back. 

"Yeah. Are you going to post it as well or do you want me to do the honors?" 

"Actually, let me just post it. Send it to me and I'll post it real quick." 

"Or I can log out and you can post it." You quickly log out and hand your phone back. "Can I see when you're done?"

"Of course. And I'm going to tag you in it." He falls silent after a while, taking his time to type out what he wants. "Here we go. You can read it out if you'd like." He hada the phone back. 

"I'm not going to cry am I?" He just smiled. "Don't be alarmed. You may have seen a rumor floating around in the last few months that we are expecting. Today, I confirm those rumors. We are expecting and she's six months, going on seven. Yes, I know it's been a long time coming and we shouldn't have kept it from all of you. But we wanted to make sure both mother and baby were healthy, which they are. So today, I announce that my fiancé are expecting a healthy baby boy."  
You look over at Mark who is grinning. "I swear, you're too much for me." You roll your eyes. 

"I love you too." He says softly, his eyes glimmering with love.

 

It didn't take long for all the tiny clothes to be organized and hung up. The only that's missing if for a changing table and a rocking chair. 

Mark helps you up from your place on the floor. A small groan leaves your lips. It getting harder to stand up. "I've got you." He mutters. 

"You know what I could go for? Some Chipotle." You say, smiling sheepishly. 

"You mean your inauthentic Mexican food?"

"Yes, with a lot of guacamole." You admit. "It's a good food every once in a while."

Mark laughs, lightly rubbing your tummy. "Alright. Stay home with Chica and I'll be home before you know it." He kisses your cheek and heads out. 

A small laugh leaves your lips as you follow him. Chica, whom was laying in the hallway follows the two of you, her nails clicking on the floor. 

"I love you so much." You say. 

"I love you too." He winks at you. 

Chica rubs her side against your leg before settling by the couch. "Hey girl." You say, patting her fluffy butt. "I hope you know there's gonna be another little human joining us in a few months." Chica rolls onto her side. "You're too carefree for us. But protect all three of us." She gives your hand a small lick. "I'll take that as a yes." 

 

Your mom arrived a few moments after Mark did. She had a lot more items for the nursery. There was no telling her no. She was super excited for her first grandchild. She excused herself to the nursery to set things up, with Chica in tow. 

"One Chipotle for you." He kissed your cheek, setting the bowl down next to you. "Extra guacamole as you requested."

"You're the best." You blow a kiss at him. "Did mom tell you what she bought?"

"Uh, the blankets for the crib and I think she said something about a rocking chair." 

"You didn't hear her?"

"She muttered the last part, so I didn't hear it." He admits. "And I knew you were hungry."

You make a small noise before starting to eat. You watch as your mom comes in and out of the nursery. Maybe she had a lot more things with her than you imagined. 

After dinner, you head into the nursery. Chica is resting near the crib. 

"The colors are beautiful, Mom." You say softly, lightly tracing patterns into the pattern. 

"Mija," she says softly, looking at you with worried eyes, "I... I think it's better you come live with me until the baby is born."

Your heart starts hammering against your chest. "Why mom? Is something the matter?"

"Um, yes and no. But... look, Mark didn't want to say anything because he's worried you'd... worry too much about it."

"Mom, you're scaring me."

"Someone has been calling your old job, asking about you. They sound pretty young too. When your old boss told them you didn't work there anymore, they started swearing and threatened him to kill him if he didn't tell them where you were." 

"Wait, you mean someone is stalking me?"

"Some of Mark's friends have noticed it as well. They get messages or threatening phone calls and they're all worried."

"Mom, does the police know?"

"They do, but they don't have much of a lead. Which sucks."

"But if they're stalking me, that means they know where I live."

"Lived. Nothing mentions to you living anywhere in particular, aside from your last apartment. But there's another family living there. So please, just until this person is caught, move in with me."

"No, mom. If you want peace of mind, you can come live here. Or at least drop by a lot more."

Your mom sighs, nodding a bit. "You're right. Moving suddenly would just stress you out." She hugs you. 

There's never a break for you is there? If it's not you in trouble, it's your mom. All you want is to enjoy these last few months with peace and quiet.


End file.
